Part of any problem with starting a new adventure is how can you get the PC's (in character) to feasibly go along with the adventure from the get go. In this case, Mr. Mona set up the very apropo motive of "getting the hell out of dodge." To really tie the PC's into Diamond Lake (or Daggerford from the FR, as I'm running it) we had a pre-session where we talked about characters, Diamond Lake, and what they may be doing there in the first place. To really encourage them, I gave them all a *free* level of one of the NPC classes to give them mundane reasons (besides adventuring) for them to exist and to tie them directly into Diamond Lake's economy/everyday life. This extra level is a bonus level and as I didn't want to penalize them for actually trying to go along with the story and develop peronsalities/wants/desires, etc., for their characters, they are still 1st level characters needing 1,000 exp. to advance to second level. While some used this extra level to avoid the ECL penalty for more powerful races (Aasimar and half-giant, respectively) I did get a drunken Dwarven Fighter/Expert Metallurgist, an Aristocrat/Sorceror apprenticed to Allustan (Delfen), and a lackey niece Moon-Elf Expert/Rogue "eavesdropper" working for Ellival. Luckily, the Aasimar went for a cleric (Lathander, whose temple is in town) and the half-giant went for a Druid (from the Bronzewood Lodge) who, while not proficient with an oversized great axe, is still capable of dropping it on a few Bombadier Beetles with splattering success.
Thanks to Mr. Mona, et al., for giving us a story to tell, rather than simply some dice to roll.