[quote=@Zyngard]
I'll go ahead and join this probably. Would a larger single party be encouraged or perhaps several smaller parties (and probably one guy who would go off on his own because people do that)?
[/quote]

While I'd prefer having a single large party purely because that's a bit easier to manage, I don't particularly mind if people split up, especially not when they split up to explore a specific location. But yes, a larger single party is preferred but not mandatory.