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So I started the campaign with three people who were new to D&D and they were REALLY careful about everything. Taking several days to slowly scout out the initial goblin cave, sneaking and hiding in the water to survive the bugbear etc. Then a new player joined, a veteran from 3rd ed. He introduces them to tanking tactics but didn't survive the experience, he got killed by the goblins he was trying to tank.
1 character dead: the dwarven cleric pregen.
Later, his new character and another new player, another veteran of 3rd ed, join the game. They have level 1 characters and this session only one of the level 2 characters are attending, and those three decide to take on Cragmaw Castle (which they've somehow found their way to before dealing with Tresendar Manor). They slaugher plenty of hobgoblins until they come to a place where they can choose between three doors. One has an owlbear behind it and I make it pretty clear that that's the most dangerous door, showing claw marks, saying that they hear claw sounds and roars, saying that the door is held shut by a heavy wooden bar. Of course that's the door they choose and I play the owlbear fight as per the RAW.
The level 2 character runs away after the owlbear killed the level 1 characters.
3 characters dead total: another copy of the dwarven cleric pregen, and a human cleric pregen I made.
Later one character went out into the woods alone and happened to roll stirges on the encounter table. Two stirges crit him and he died. We retconned this one as a dream because the table said that only a half an hour little forest trip so close to Phandalin wouldn't trigger a roll on that table. I was fine with that and switched it up to only being rolled on full days.
As for NPCs, Sildar died to hobgoblins on another forest trek and Gundren died in the hostage situation when the party returned to Cragmaw Castle.
Glasstaff died offscreen, he survived the party's visit to Tresendar Manor but I had his death be a catalyst for a little 3PP sidetrek ("A Stolen Spring" from one page dungeon 2013). Qelline and Toblen are very sick from that sidetrek.
Kost is still alive but he is entangled in another side trek, one I made myself that the party went on.
I love LMoP, love my group and love this game!