Consider that what we are talking about are \"safe encounters with

death\", not \"lives\" or \"ship rides\" per' se'. Simply stated, a \"safe

encounter\" means that you can ride the ship and resurrect with no real

personal cost except for a small loss of XP.

When you are out of \"safe encounters\", you can still ride the ship and

resurrect but with the added cost of an incremental (but reversible)

diminishment of skills. To me, this diminishment is perfectly reasonable

and represents an excellent analog to reality.

After a \"real\" fight in which your arm was smashed, your head was cut

off, or you were slashed to the point of bleeding to death, you might

expect to suffer from SOME debilitation (while your arm healed, your

head grew back, or your wounds closed). Even if your life was

restored (OK, in a real fight when you die you DIE but this is still

Avalon), you wouldn't be able to move as quickly, stab as strongly, or be

quite the bad ass you were before. In short, your injuries would result in

a reduction in skill level. Subsequent lost fights would produce even

more debilitating injuries and more skill reduction.

At present, your full rehabilitation (skill restoration) comes only after you

receive the blessings of a wurtfoil brew. If I could make one change to

this system, it would be to require the passage of time to provide skill

restoration (a 1% daily return of skills for example) and allow brews to

restore only \"safe encounters\".

The creators, in their wisdom, implemented a structure in which death is

painful and requires recovery. Death SHOULD be painful and costly.

Keeping everyone at 10 safe encounters all the time perverts this brilliant

element of Avalon.

The Animists are motivated by their desire to protect all life and they

wisely understand that when death is cheap, death is frequent. Although

I AM NOT motivated to save all life here, I support the Animists in this

decision. I support them because this policy enhances the elegance and

reality of Avalon and because it is in line with their own role in Avalon.

Written by my hand on the 21st of Midwinter, in the year 1098.