re: bland Phandalin
I kinda wish they've left the starting town as bland as in the starter set. The notion of weird and fantastical for Perkins these days stops at ''add a quirky twee gnome that does unharmful fey stuff...''
I know, I know, it has to be PG. But would it be too much to...I dunno...discover that the redbrand are actually a small sect of GOO worshipper led by Glassstaff. I mean, add a few redbrands with elastic bones or weird mutation in the basement of their hideout. Something that makes your players say: ''what the hell!?''