this is my first time dming, so I’m planning on running lost mines of phandelver. problem is that i only have two players and no chances of finding other people to join. i am giving them an npc party member (and just planning on being really careful about metagaming and accidentally giving away information)  so they don’t immediately die, but is there anything else i should adjust for combat?

thanks

My wife and I just got back into D&D with the starter set. She took 2 of the pregenerated characters, rogue and cleric. Boosted them to level 3 and let her run wild. It worked out pretty well and she has continued playing them into the Hoard of the Dragon Queen. I didn’t have to adjust monsters at all but did bring in the human fighter for the mansion clear out. 

One NPC should be fine. If things start going badly, just have less bad guys or have some of them run away.

Try looking into the Sidekick system:

https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/UA_Sidekicks.pdf

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/doip/sidekicks

Alternatively, let each player have two characters.

Quote from Maestrino >>

Alternatively, let each player have two characters.

 I wouldn't recommend that for a first time GM.

It's maybe not optimal, but lost mine is optimized for 3-5 characters. Running it with 4 (even if each player is piloting two PCs) means you can run the encounters as written without needing to monkey with numbers of enemies or enemy stats. To me, letting the players run two characters is easier for a new DM than trying to run a party NPC and appropriately nerf the combat encounters, but your mileage may vary. :)

thanks for all of your suggestions! i think i’m going to stick with an npc party member (as my players have also never played dnd before and i think it would be easier than them having two characters) and just using the first combat encounter as a test to see if i have to adjust anything. 

Quote from soleilangel >>

thanks for all of your suggestions! i think i’m going to stick with an npc party member (as my players have also never played dnd before and i think it would be easier than them having two characters) and just using the first combat encounter as a test to see if i have to adjust anything. 

I will warn you that the first encounter is also one of the deadliest in LMoP, as level 1 characters can drop incredibly easily! If the party is getting pelted by multiple goblins at range, especially if the goblins get surprise, there's a reasonable chance they may die.

After that fight, things actually become much more manageable (once the players get to level 2 especially). For a small group, I'd recommend considering a few things:

-Potentially play the goblins as melee-focused, rush them in instead of holding them back pelting the party with arrows

-Be prepared in case the party wipes, I would suggest having them knocked out and then held captive instead of outright killed in the cave somewhere, guarded by an inept goblin or two (perhaps in the same room as Sildar), and have them manipulate/fight their way out

-Consider jumping the party to level 2 early on, before they're technically supposed to hit it. Level 1 is incredibly dangerous, especially for 2 person parties getting ambushed by multiple goblins!

You can just drop the number of ambush goblins to one or two. The first shots can also be narrative. "As you crest the hill, arrows fly out of the bushes at you, impacting the wagon and making a hole in a sack of grain! What do you do?"