TommySalami

Beast Wars is my GOAT Transformer series. I figured it was nostalgia, but I rewatched during the pandemic and it honestly held up better than I remember. Even the weird early digital animation is impressive in context. So many interesting characters and motivations, too. And the sweetest extra on top is Megatron's dialogue. Yeeeeess!

I prefer 2 to 1, primarily because the choices are not as blatantly good/evil and it feels like they have more impact. I also think the character creation and items are more fleshed out. Just a shame it didn't get the polish it deserved at launch. 1 definitely feels more "Star Wars"-y, though.

Sweetened, doesn't particularly matter with what. Though I think my favorite has been a honey/citron/ginger tea from Costco. No caffeine, but the flavor was immaculate.

Obviously you have a lot of possibilities with a villain who is being deliberately portrayed as unhinged. I think the line you need to walk is between making it honest and ruining the fun. One thought that came to mind was the reset. If the bbeg is on the back foot and it looks like the PCs got it, have the bbeg throw a tantrum and wish to try again. Everyone's HP resets, and maybe he had a few new special abilities to counteract the offensive moves that they first tried. Not to mention, this also goes back to a time when the bbeg has a wish spell. This makes it like a boss fight with multiple health bars, but there are some players who don't like this type of encounter vehemently and it can feel cheap. I wouldn't do more than 3 "rounds." If you party is really tactical, you might also entice them with new weaknesses that are telegraphed or maybe an environmental assistance.

Another idea that came to mind would be wishing they already won. Then you flash forward to the PCs about to be executed in some theatrical way, turning the encounter into a 007 escape that leads directly into the real boss fight. Maybe there are some low level horde waves, some skill checks, some absurd monologuing.

Best of luck!

Important clarification: is this the end of the campaign?

That's a wild question, cause for me and most of the people I know, a fantasy version of myself with double my income would mean not worrying about groceries, maybe a short trip out of the country once a year, being able to pay off debts, and affording some medical procedures that we've been putting off. Maybe saving some money so my kid isn't homeless in a few decades. Not some life of leisure.

To answer your question, though, it would be categorically worse.

Very excited for the MI GQP to rip itself apart as the face-eating leopards get hungry for internal enemies.

Friendly reminder that you don't need to buy WotC/Hasbro products to play 5e. The 5e publishing ecosystem is pretty strong and there are lots of options so that you don't have to get rid of your old books. Level Up Advanced 5e has free PDFs online of their whole books, but the books are fantastic quality. Tales of the Valiant is coming soon, and there is a huge catalog of Kobold Press content before that. And then there are hundreds of smaller presses that also support the ruleset. I haven't gotten any WotC products in years even before the OGL, mainly because quality seemed to be taking a turn, but there is still great content out there.

If you want to bend backward to accommodate this player, you can. Give them a reason to behave that way. Make the other PCs know and understand. For example, in Dark Sun, magic saps the natural world of life and cruel, terrible things happen when magic is cast. Maybe the knife-wizard knows this. Let the spells be dangerous to other people and the environment, but not the party. Have the others in character ask/beg the caster to use a spell, especially if this matters. You can help balance encounters around whether or not they will need to dip into this costly magic.

I've dealt with a crossbow wizard before and, tbh, it is easier to have them just face the repercussions of their choices. Granted, that was a one-shot with close friends, but you do what you think is best.

Quick Edit: it might be worth talking about how ttrpgs are a collaborative game and that players should be working together to their goals, while they seem to be dedicated to playing not only suboptimally (which imo isn't a problem) but they are playing in a way that is actively disruptive. Perhaps not as bad as actively attacking teammates or the like, but this would ruin my fun. I don't want to play games with people like that.

From what I've read, biological parentage can get preference even if the child had been living in another household. You'd think what you said would be the case, but state legal opinions are not a thing I would be super trusting of if I were in that position given how our rights are in a precarious position, to say the least. IANAL, but everyone should write a will. That's better than letting lawyers and judges guess at what you want.

Not an expert, but there is a lot less ground to legally challenge the partnership if a couple is married. If a couple isn't married and one of them suddenly dies without a will or some sort of similar situation, the deceased's family can fight for everything from how their funeral is executed, custody of children, or even control of finances. Obviously it would involve some sort of legal intervention, but marriage would supercede any familial relationships in most cases. I'm not sure how common it is, but I've definitely heard stories about this in gay relationships where estranged family ends up getting legal guardianship of children because the parents weren't officially married and one died.

I'm married and, though I don't think I can numerate all the ways, we are definitely more financially stable than we were when we were just dating. Even just the convenience of being able to do certain legal and medical stuff on my partner's behalf makes a big difference. And that's isn't to say it's for everyone, but it is worth investigating if you have specific concerns.

I have a similar set of items in my setting, but I really enjoy the juxtaposition of mundane items doing really unique and powerful things. One of them is an old rotten tooth that can slowly destroys organic material. One is a shaving razor that allows you to cut portals over short distances, perfect for rogues taking coin purses. Some of the other items include a comb, a chess piece, a broach, and a coin. I think the best way to balance powerful items is in the times they can use them per day. If it's a crazy strong ability, maybe it takes a week to charge up for one use. If you feel it isn't very useful, let them use it 3/day and see if they surprise you with some creative thinking. Tweaking those time-frames can make even something initially unimpressive feel like a true relic.