Now that we have Druids, don't you have to do Ethel solo?
One way of making different difficulty levels would be to vary the resources, so that those who use lots of resources could play easier levels and those that use fewer can chose a level more suited to their style. Swen's semi solo druid run at Ethel did show some helpful tips, as well as highlight lots of potions that were lying around to help. (Semi, in that it didn't quite go according to plan and he had to get one of the crew to drop him a speed potion.) I've cheesed that with a solo stealth ranger, but I've also messed it up royally. I have no idea how I'd deal with it with a cleric or fighter main.
But ultimately insta potions vs full rest is six of one half a dozen of the other. Using either means that you haven't found a way to use the crew to their best. Or possibly really bad luck. In the nautiloid you didn't have a rest option, and it is the first tutorial, so a little help is nice, you can try things, but I'm not convinced we need that level of support in the main game.
Different folks do things in different ways, and it might make sense to make it easier for some ways of getting through with options (like the loaded dice) or difficulty levels in the final product. Heck, it took me a few runs to understand what all the people talking about dream sequences were on about, which made the "who do you dream of" in the character creation seem reaaaaally confusing. Once you accept that bargain, lots of things get easier.
