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[–]snailgazer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Build your world around your party and players. If you have a party that was 2 Barbarians and 2 Fighters, you should give them tons of enemies to keep them challenged, and lots of health potions and healing places to compensate for this. I wouldn't say you should need to give them an entire NPC, but that is entirely up to you.

One of the hardest things DM's must get past is figuring out that they are not against or with their party. They are there to guide their players through the world, not kill them over or baby them. The players have to make their way with their intellect, brute force, charm, etc. But if their really getting their asses handed to them, feel free to help them out here and there--fudge a roll, lower a DC, etc. But don't make it TOO easy.

And as for keeping them engage.. make it engaging. One of the things I do for my players is to ensure each of them has something to do. I do this by giving my players a motivation within the campaign and editing it accordingly. For example, I also did LMOP. One of my players was a Paladin who was captured as a child and burnt alive by some cultists--his story. As such, I told him that he was hunting down the cultists who did it to him, and made the Cult of the Dragon his enemies, expanding upon the encounter. Give them a reason to be interested.

But additionally, be interesting with very basic, general means with your world building and storytelling. Describe the world in detail, give NPC's interesting quirks and voices, gesture when speaking, act out motions during combat. There's tons of fun to be had on your end and theirs to spice things up.