You're down exploring a crypt for the first time, or landing on a new and dangerous island. Why are you scared? Because dying costs.

If dying cost nothing, you could jump off a cliff to go back to base. If dying cost nothing, you wouldn't have a stake in any of the battles. If dying cost nothing, your biggest challenge would be suppressing the yawn.

The real disagreement isn't about whether dying should cost, but how much, and you can manipulatel that via the dev commands.