4th Edition Adventure books

[Xun Ira]

Anyone know of any free adventure tomes? Preferable for 4th edition.

I am going to be dming for the first time, a really small group [2 people + me], and would like to find some adventures as part of a 1-30 campaign.

Also, any advice from the pro-DM's?  

[Lord of the Vine]

My advice? Get 2 more players at least. Most printed material is designed with the thought of a 4-person party.

If you're going to keep that size, then I'd recommend picking up the monster manuals and gettin' to work on the nitty-gritty.  

[WhimsicalXellos]

Even if you have just 3 players, the adventures always give tips on how to adjust the encounters for one more or less player, assuming you run an NPC to fill in the party a bit more. But no, there aren't really any free books for 4e unless you're willing to break the law, and we can't really give out links for that, either.

The actual Wizards website may have some resources you could use/buy.  

[Evangeline Ingram]

In my experience three's about the smallest group you want to DM for, and it maxes out around eight or nine. If you have only one or two players then combat becomes too swingy; if you have more than about seven everything takes forever and people start losing interest in the game.

As for adventure modules, try Giant in the Playground's homebrew forums if you don't want to download illegally. They might have some stuff for you. I never really liked modules anyway, because they basically do your job for you and often lead to railroading- but then again, they are a good way to get started.

Now, for general advice: Don't plan stuff out in specifics. What you want is a general idea of everywhere and an initial hook for the session. Players don't like to search for fun; but they like to have their kind of fun, not yours. If you plan too much you're likely not to use what you built.

Things you should love love love:
- Pregenerated Monsters in variety, all at the same level (Which is your party's level or slightly higher)
- General area maps of "here there be dragons/orcs/whatever" so you don't screw up directions for the party (unless you're doing it deliberately)
- One or two flexible encounters you can throw at the party anywhere to give yourself time to think. ("We're going to go to this other city you haven't even put ten second's thought into!" *AMBUSHED BY BANDITS*)
-Everything else, improvise!  

[Rain Yupa]

WhimsicalXellos

Even if you have just 3 players, the adventures always give tips on how to adjust the encounters for one more or less player,

Expanding a bit on this, one thing I like about 4th edition is its balance for encounters. In short, every PC should be able to handle one Standard monster of his/her level in an encounter. So two level 3 PCs should be able to handle two level 3 monsters.

An Elite counts as two monsters, and a Solo counts as five. With a party of two, do NOT use Solo monsters. An Elite should be plenty challenging.

As mentioned above as well, combat can be swingy with too few; with that in mind, plan on your encounters being a little easier to start. That is to say, for two level 3 PCs, maybe start encounters with only two level 2 monsters. Maybe a level 3 and a level 1 as well. Something so the players can get a feel for how their characters work and how to optimize their teamwork. Ramp up the difficulty gradually.

The best advice for DMing I can give you is to allow and even encourage your players to think outside the box. Yes, it forces you to make snap decisions and pull stuff out of your you-know-what on a moment's notice sometimes, but your players will have more fun and be more engrossed in a game. People often complain that 4e plays too much like a tabletop wargame than a roleplaying game. That's only if you LET IT play that way. Unconventional is what legends are made of!