The short and extremely unhelpful answer is, maybe. It all depends on your players, their play styles, and your comfort level as GM.

The long (and hopefully more helpful) answer is, find out what your players want and go that route. One good way is to take a look at the other kinds of games they play (if you know): do they play mostly open-world shooters, or more story-based games like FFVII or Kingdom Hearts? It could also help to outright ask them. Especially since you're all new to RPGs, getting expectations out on the table early is a big help. You'll notice a common theme to a lot of questions on this site is the group's social contract, i.e., the spoken or unspoken agreement about how things should go. For a new GM with a group full of new players, getting everyone on the same page with regards to how much story vs combat the group as a whole wants to see, will go a long way toward making your game run smoothly and enjoyably for all.

Some groups prefer to spend most of their time on the hack 'n slash parts of the game, in which case you'd be find just summarizing the action between adventures: "When you return to town, you're approached by a man who says he heard of your prowess and has a mission for you."

On the other hand, if your players lean toward the role-playing/story-based parts of the game, you should look for ways to organically introduce plot hooks. This can be difficult, especially as a new DM, since it involves putting clues out there and hoping the players find them.

Now, there's a talent to this, in making the clues obvious enough that the players don't miss them completely, but not so obvious that it still feels like railroading. If you don't feel comfortable with that yet, it's fine to start out a little railroad-y, even if your players prefer RP. Especially if you're all new to RPGs, it's better to take the time to get comfortable with the system and each other's play styles than to try to do everything all at once. Using more on-the-tracks narrative can help with this, as it avoids the big long awkward pauses when you say, "You arrive at the village. What do you do?" and your players sit there trying not to make eye contact because none of them are quite sure what to do next. Or the other extreme, in which everyone goes off in different directions and you suddenly find yourself trying to adjudicate a bar brawl, a temple ceremony, and a night out with attractive members of the opposite sex all at the same time.

TL;DR: Find out whether your players want organic plot hooks and give them what they're looking for, but don't overtax yourself as GM.

The short and extremely unhelpful answer is, maybe. It all depends on your players, their play styles, and your comfort level as GM.

The long (and hopefully more helpful) answer is, find out what your players want and go that route. One good way is to take a look at the other kinds of games they play (if you know): do they play mostly open-world shooters, or more story-based games like FFVII or Kingdom Hearts? It could also help to outright ask them. Especially since you're all new to RPGs, getting expectations out on the table early is a big help. You'll notice a common theme to a lot of questions on this site is the group's social contract, i.e., the spoken or unspoken agreement about how things should go. For a new GM with a group full of new players, getting everyone on the same page with regards to how much story vs combat the group as a whole wants to see, will go a long way toward making your game run smoothly and enjoyably for all.

Some groups prefer to spend most of their time on the hack 'n slash parts of the game, in which case you'd be fine just summarizing the action between adventures: "When you return to town, you're approached by a man who says he heard of your prowess and has a mission for you."

On the other hand, if your players lean toward the role-playing/story-based parts of the game, you should look for ways to organically introduce plot hooks. This can be difficult, especially as a new DM, since it involves putting clues out there and hoping the players find them.

Now, there's a talent to this, in making the clues obvious enough that the players don't miss them completely, but not so obvious that it still feels like railroading. If you don't feel comfortable with that yet, it's fine to start out a little railroad-y, even if your players prefer RP. Especially if you're all new to RPGs, it's better to take the time to get comfortable with the system and each other's play styles than to try to do everything all at once. Using more on-the-tracks narrative can help with this, as it avoids the big long awkward pauses when you say, "You arrive at the village. What do you do?" and your players sit there trying not to make eye contact because none of them are quite sure what to do next. Or the other extreme, in which everyone goes off in different directions and you suddenly find yourself trying to adjudicate a bar brawl, a temple ceremony, and a night out with attractive members of the opposite sex all at the same time.

TL;DR: Find out whether your players want organic plot hooks and give them what they're looking for, but don't overtax yourself as GM.

The short and extremely unhelpful answer is, maybe. It all depends on your players, their play styles, and your comfort level as GM.

The long (and hopefully more helpful) answer is, find out what your players want and go that route. Some groups prefer to spend most of their time on the hack 'n slash parts of the game, in which case you'd be find just summarizing the action between adventures: "When you return to town, you're approached by a man who says he heard of your prowess and has a mission for you."

On the other hand, if your players lean toward the role-playing parts of the game, you should look for ways to organically introduce plot hooks. This can be difficult, especially as a new DM, since it involves putting clues out there and hoping the players find them.

Now, there's a talent to this, in making the clues obvious enough that the players don't miss them completely, but not so obvious that it still feels like railroading. If you don't feel comfortable with that yet, it's fine to start out a little railroad-y, even if your players prefer RP. Especially if you're all new to RPGs, it's better to take the time to get comfortable with the system and each other's play styles than to try to do everything all at once. Using more on-the-tracks narrative can help with this, as it avoids the big long awkward pauses when you say, "You arrive at the village. What do you do?" and your players sit there trying not to make eye contact because none of them are quite sure what to do next. Or the other extreme, in which everyone goes off in different directions and you suddenly find yourself trying to adjudicate a bar brawl, a temple ceremony, and a night out with attractive members of the opposite sex all at the same time.

TL;DR: Find out whether your players want organic plot hooks and give them what they're looking for, but don't overtax yourself as GM.

The short and extremely unhelpful answer is, maybe. It all depends on your players, their play styles, and your comfort level as GM.

The long (and hopefully more helpful) answer is, find out what your players want and go that route. One good way is to take a look at the other kinds of games they play (if you know): do they play mostly open-world shooters, or more story-based games like FFVII or Kingdom Hearts? It could also help to outright ask them. Especially since you're all new to RPGs, getting expectations out on the table early is a big help. You'll notice a common theme to a lot of questions on this site is the group's social contract, i.e., the spoken or unspoken agreement about how things should go. For a new GM with a group full of new players, getting everyone on the same page with regards to how much story vs combat the group as a whole wants to see, will go a long way toward making your game run smoothly and enjoyably for all.

Some groups prefer to spend most of their time on the hack 'n slash parts of the game, in which case you'd be find just summarizing the action between adventures: "When you return to town, you're approached by a man who says he heard of your prowess and has a mission for you."

On the other hand, if your players lean toward the role-playing/story-based parts of the game, you should look for ways to organically introduce plot hooks. This can be difficult, especially as a new DM, since it involves putting clues out there and hoping the players find them.

Now, there's a talent to this, in making the clues obvious enough that the players don't miss them completely, but not so obvious that it still feels like railroading. If you don't feel comfortable with that yet, it's fine to start out a little railroad-y, even if your players prefer RP. Especially if you're all new to RPGs, it's better to take the time to get comfortable with the system and each other's play styles than to try to do everything all at once. Using more on-the-tracks narrative can help with this, as it avoids the big long awkward pauses when you say, "You arrive at the village. What do you do?" and your players sit there trying not to make eye contact because none of them are quite sure what to do next. Or the other extreme, in which everyone goes off in different directions and you suddenly find yourself trying to adjudicate a bar brawl, a temple ceremony, and a night out with attractive members of the opposite sex all at the same time.

TL;DR: Find out whether your players want organic plot hooks and give them what they're looking for, but don't overtax yourself as GM.