Just as a follow-up: we had our final session for the short adventure last night. The newbie and one of the others couldn't make it, so there were just three players (including me) and the DM. Some beers were drunk, but there was minimal chitchat about them other than during the pre-game socializing, and the atmosphere remained relaxed and relatively quiet throughout. The DM had also put a hard 10:30 pm time limit on the session - as in, if we didn't make it to the final encounter by then, then we'd lose and the bad guys would get away with their evil plans. While I wouldn't advocate for doing this every session, I felt in this case it helped keep the three of us players focused on the game.
This session was probably as close to an ideal gaming session as I can think of - small, intimate group. Chill vibes. A clear goal. Some good laughs. The dice were fickle. We lost a party member but succeeded in reclaiming the things we'd been sent to get. It was polar opposites to the session that preceded it, which was loud, boozy, chaotic, and generally unfocused.
I've told the DM most of the above. He has said he wants to get back into a more regular schedule, so he's looking to have a larger pool of players to increase the likelihood of there being enough people for any given session. I've tried that in the past with mixed success, and now for my own games, I've gone more into "same players, flexible schedule" rather than "rigid schedule, flexible player roster".
Anyway, my point is, last night was fun enough that depending on how the DM sets up his next campaign and who all is playing in it, I may end up deciding to stick with it. The DM has even said that he's happy for me to play it session-by-session. No need to commit to every session or burn any bridges / develop any hard feelings, which I really appreciate.
