Day 1

The road crests a small rise and descends into a dusty grove in a large, shallow dell. An abandoned farmhouse, partially visible through trees, stands to your south. You've passed a dozen spots much like this one already today, but this one sets your teeth on edge. Then you glimpse the glint of mail through the brush by the side of the road. Fierce warriors - tall hairy humanoids with wide mouths and flat faces - are lying in wait. They notice you noticing them, and stand to attack with bows in hand. They're dressed uniformly, with identical equipment and armour spaced out between them, and from a glance each bears a similar brand somewhere on their face - a red claw. Alongside them comes the howl of a hellish hound - short sanguine fur, gleaming orange eyes, and a maw dripping with raw flames that steps up out of the trees.

Spoiler: Map
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Passive perception determined how far into the ambush you got, if at all.

The hobgoblins you can see are wearing chainmail and holding longbows. A shield and longsword are kept in reserve.

Enemies in the treeline will receive cover (1/2 or 3/4, depending on how far you are from them). Climbing from the 'road' to the 'grass' just counts as difficult terrain, no check required.

Players win initiative ties vs. enemies.

Despite there being four enemy sets and five players, it basically turned into side initiative. Wuffles and Bernie up first (though I'm not sure Wuffles can attack without a command to do so?). The Red and Blue markers on the hobs in the trees are just to separate them by initiative, though it didn't matter in this case. I'll do similar stuff in the future though, so better to note it now :P

Initiative Order:
Wuffles: (1d20)[18]
Bernie: (1d20)[18]

HH: (1d20)[18]
LH: (1d20)[15]
BH: (1d20)[7]
RH: (1d20)[6]

Leif:(1d20)[5]
Ayalla:(1d20)[4]
Paul:(1d20+1)[4]