Some background: it's my first time DMing (basically) and I decided to do Ghosts of Saltmarsh setting for some friends. The sessions are fairly casual but I want to do a good job, encourage RP and make sure everyone has fun. I decided to try doing XP instead of milestone because I'd never been in a campaign that had used XP before for progression, and yet, it seemed like kind of a fun way to do it (more like a video game). I believe, however, that I may have handled XP awards wrongly. I think you are supposed to divide XP between each party member, but I was giving the full amount to each person. Basically, by the time the party had finished the first adventure in the setting, which is supposed to get them to level 3, they were all level 4 and halfway to level 5. As I prepare to start the second adventure, Danger at Dunwater, which is meant for a level 3 party, I feel they will probably be overleveled.
There's nothing wrong with this in theory as DaD is a more political adventure based on RPing with certain groups, but I am sure there will be some combat and I worry the party will be too strong. Can anyone recommend a creative way to handle this discrepancy? I don't want to ask my adventurers to subtract a bunch of XP and de-level themselves as that seems kind of feelbad.
Thanks in advance for any advice or comments!