Ok, so here's the adventure party:
Ariana- Eladrin Wizard- played by Brandie. Her first timeplaying D&D or ANY OTHER RPG EVER.
Angus- human warlock - played by Mark
Geleth - Drow Rogue - played by Trevor
Saischa - Elf Cleric - played by Nina. Her first time playing 4e.
Aelthas - Elf Ranger - played by Matt
I met them all online, we were playing at a public place, a game store here in Maryland. I also had the Forgotten Realms Campaign guide (which I want to tal kabout somewhere else), but the first thing we did was take the map out of the back, unfold it, and show where the adventure was.
Seriously, Spoilers begin below:
This takes place in the Eastern Rift, (once known as the "Great Rift"- until the Spellplague collapsed about half of the Underdark) -- a huge collapsed area of the Underdark, ruled by the Gold Dwarves. It specifically starts in the city of Delzimmer, which is on the coast. The description of the city is great- it's a massive sprawling place, built vertically, so that half of the city is underground, in layers. And the character start out at the Glittering Xorn tavern. There, they receive word that the Crafty Kobold Salvage Company is hiring adventurers for a high-paying expedition into the Underdark to recover something.
(Almost ALL of these details were lost on us at GenCon)
So we did a bit of roleplaying in the tavern, getting to know one another. Nina and Trevor were actually a married couple, but none of the other players knew each other. So this was a good opportunity to get acquainted. We went around the table and let people introduce their characters, then had the dwarf recruiter come by looking for adventurers, and giving out crudely printed leaflets inviting players to Crafty Kobold Salvage.
They headed to the warehouse district of Delzimmer, down to Crafty Kobold Salvage where they meet the proprieter, Divhon Boltsmelter. Divhon gives them a hearty welcome, and after some exchanged greetings brings them into his office. Once the doors are closed, he becomes a lot more serious.
As it turns out, Divhon had come into possession of a map to an old elemental-binding temple-forge in a particularly dangerous area of the Underdark that Crafty Kobold Salvage had been excavating. Other evidence pointed to this temple being the location of an important book- the Elementus Principatus. Priests of Moradin had expressed high interest in recovering this book and Divhon hoped to go after it. Unfortunately, before he could properly outfit an expedition, his son took a small group of 6 dwarves and set out after it.. and then disappeared.
So what Divhon really wanted.. was someone to go looking for his son. The players did some back and forth here (especially Angus), and they managed to get a dwarven guide assigned for the expedition into the rift, and they negotiated free supplies for the trip down- mining equipment, ropes, rations, etc. Saischa did a bit of research into the Principatus Elementus, and Ariana did some research into the temple forge itself- which she determined was actually dedicated to Dumathoin, an Exarch of Moradin. More importantly, she determined that the place was likely guarded by wards, constructs, and traps.
They also picked up descriptions of the son, Tamur. He was carrying a particular silver warhammer, with an inscription from his mother.
They set off into the Rift.