[Arios]

I'm quite dissapointed by the change in policy also, however I do think it's much more sensible. Even in a world I played (not even) half the physical size of Thay, with a playerbase three times as large, it could sometimes be difficult to find willing party members, and even moreso to find any that would be willing to spend hard earned gold on ressurecting your character. The friendships between PC's culitvated on 'that' world were very special. Like I mentioned though, Thay is 'huge' by comparison, with massively reduced chance of bumping into another PC on the street.

So, while I am let down with the change, I do think it's by far the better policy in light of the place we play. Hopefully this change can lead to an increased player base, which could mean more numerous PC relationships. In turn, that could perhaps lead to the return of permadeath.

It's early days yet :D