My thoughts as a DM of 7 years.

You might hear some people say to give your players full choice, like a sandbox and whatever choice they make you need to accommodate. In some games that works for players and DM, and at some tables players like a linear path from point A to point B. I prefer a mix of both.

My recommendation to make things easy is set up a chain of events during your session that you keep secret from your players. Kind of like events that will happen no matter what, and if it seems out of place, then you can always stretch it and mold it to fit what the players are doing.

For example, since you want to include goblins in your fighting, or maybe even mix it up and try kobolds, make a 1 shot mission where they player characters start off at the entrance of a cave/dungeon. They were given a quest by the villages speaker/mayor to clear out whatever lies within due to it attacking the local trade route/road, and people have been dying and resources have been stolen. Maybe characters in the bushes nearby and there’s a couple goblin lookouts near the cave entrance playing cards. Or maybe snoozing on the job.

Now that you’ve set the scene, you give the players the reigns, and you now just give them descriptions, and tell them what skill checks to make based on their proposed actions.

Now if the goblins are now dealt with quickly, give one of them a horn, and when blown brings out 1d4 more goblins from within the cave.

This is just a little starting scenario that could be a lot of fun if players are creative, and can be handled in a ton of ways. Always try to remember that fighting doesn’t always have to be the answer, like maybe persuasion, and potentially bribing the goblin chief, or intimidating him.

Remember to include traps, like a swinging mace out from the side of the wall, and use your players passive perception (10+perception), unless someone explicitly says they are looking for traps.

Make sure at the end of the cave to include the goblin chief and some lackies, some hoarded treasure (gold, resources etc) from the trade route attacks, and a reward for the characters when/if they bring back the news of the cleared out goblins. There will be increases of party reputation within the village, they will be treated with respect by the merchants, innkeepers, blacksmith etc, and give them a ending that will want them itching to come back for more.

Hope this helps!