I haven't used the Timescape in years but I do recall character death frequently occurred, especially if you unfortunate enough to land in the Rad Zone without protection. Since you couldn't use spells, healing was nearly impossible. I did enjoy the occasional random selection of being the Scientist, though, as I am one in real life.

I'm so excited to make my first post to this forum!! I played a lot of 2nd edition back in the day and the Timescape never felt right with a game that featured dragons and unicorns and For me there were only 2 good reasons to enter the Timescape: Omnipotent Being and Anti-Grav Platform, which made dungeon exploration easier. Space Vampire and Alien Spores always made me think twice about casting a Warp Gate spell. I'm in the "nay" camp for a 4th edition Timescape. I'd rather see a Storm River based expansion with all kinds of marine creatures and navigational hazards.