Dungeons and Dragons! Part 1

I have been preparing and running Dungeons and Dragons games for almost twenty years. We end up homebrewing many of the rules so the following campaign experiences will have rules discrepancies, mistakes, and judgment calls that may differ from the game rules as well as how other groups play. The story is taking place in a world I created called Canterog, a world many of the games I have run have taken place in since 2007. Our group also fluctuates in size from three to eleven players depending on who could make it. Because we are playing in a retail environment we are also limited in time, we generally play from 6pm till 9pm, which is a rather short session. We are also using the Fifth Edition rule set. 

Mid 2017 I started running adventures at the Board Game Barrister near my house. I arrived with a fifth level adventure and was informed I would be running a first level adventure for a new group of players. Modifying the adventure before we started I kept the plot the same, the group was looking for a missing ally of their possible employer as well as rooting out some hobgoblins lurking in the mountains. After a few encounters and finding out about a creature known as Mr. Shade, they made their way to a hidden keep built within a cliff side. They encountered a young mimic like creature and attracted more hobgoblins that were deeper within the complex. They made their way to a throne room, it was empty but they noticed a giant trapdoor leading down. A few party members took the chute down and the others took the stairs. The chute group ended up in a sealed room with an ogre zombie. The other group found a hobgoblin leader and his minions coming up the stairs after hearing voices in their trap. The chute group killed the zombie with terrible puns and vicious mockery while the stair group battled for their lives against the hobgoblin leader. The monk in the group kicked open a door and found a caged silver dragon, he freed the dragon which then ate the head of the hobgoblin leader. The party gained membership to Tower Artifacts, a guild in their home town.