Just finished the first session.
I made backgrounds for everyone tying them to Gundren in some way or fashion. Five players and only three even read them(but they loved them so there’s that). Started them meeting Gundren and Sildar at a tavern in Neverwinter. G&S are headed out immediately and the party is to pick up the wagon at a nearby stable in the morning and follow out.
This party is absolutely demolishing everything. Only one person has played before and they are ripping everything to shreds. Ambush in the woods, wiped. Cave entrance, wiped. The ridiculously high stat barbarian rolled a natural crit to befriend the wolves(I made him roll again to see if they would follow the party, he flubbed that so the wolves just left.)
They find the rubble going up to H8 and everyone makes their checks. So right to Klarg we go. I put some extra goblins in the room to try to make some kind of challenge for the party. One of the players had to leave so we ended after the first round of combat with the barbarian surrounded by goblins, Klarg on the throne and everyone else ready to do ranged attacks near the rubble crevice they came in from.
Everyone seems to be having fun and the feedback has been great. They still have to find Sildar, so I may make Yeemik the big bad now. It’s all gonna depend on how this fight goes.
I haven’t DM’d in forever so it’s fun to be back in the drivers seat. Still, I want to make the party sweat a bit. They can’t just run around crushing everything they see. I need somebody to get shot. In the neck.