burble

A level 1 with more than a few bullet points of backstory doesn't make a ton of sense to me

And they opposite, when they ask to roll perception or investigation when it doesn't matter at all and the improv'ed answer turns into a major plot point

I've played and DMed both. A West Marches campaign has been the right fit for some groups with tough schedules. That format can work really well when you have a larger world plan and story that different venn diagrams of groups slowly discover and have to post notes about to a group chat or Discord. Players remember and read about things from different sessions and piece together the story and world, then can decide on new missions and exploration in a real collaborative setting. Picture a tavern setting where they're arguing about different plot hooks, missions, and tips, and start to switch from the selfish motivations of wanting cool loot to also wanting to uncover the story. It can be great if you lay the groundwork.

A few lazy players can disappear into the background, and they still have fun and want to hang out.

One of the campaigns I play in is more of a West Marches or Adventurer's League style with a rotating cast of players. There are... differening levels of effort.

And the person who didn't gets to default to being the loner outcast who doesn't talk much, easy

AMfAB

I think my next campaign needs a pawn shop that'll consider buying anything but will seriously low-ball it if they can't move it easily. And maybe need to talk to an expert they know.

That was mostly from a past group that basically disbanded. The more recent campaigns I've played and DMed in figure out characters together and roll stats in-person during a session 0.

I don't necessarily want to kill all of them, but, you know, putting a metagaming mage in an antimagic field, a min/maxed flyer in a little cave, no flanking plus some poisoning to reduce sneak attacks...

I'm just done with people showing up with "broken builds" they found online and totally legit stat blocks that they definitely rolled.

In pursuit of known dunamancer Rick Sanchez

I have a "D3" that's just a D6 with two of each.

Like this?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/263612668/rollable-4-sided-dice

They're out there somewhere...