Not seeing much of an Idea in this thread. I agree with what most people are saying that your friends were going to quit it was just a matter of time. The game isn't supposed to be easy. That doesn't mean we should lose all our inspiration and 2 profs each time we die. At the same time it's not completely broken, there's a lot you can do with your first 200k, especially if you have people helping you out.
My suggestion is to make English snuff a craft-able item, or to have the wilderness guide sell it for silver.