Here's a small way to make dying more fun.
When you roll up a new character, for each ability score you can either
- roll 3d6 raw, or
- take (21 - your last character's score in this ability)
- cash in a relevant ability score card for a free 16
When a character dies or retires, you get an ability score card depending on how they did so:
- Strength if they died of starvation in the wilderness,
- Dexterity if they died of a trap,
- Constitution if they died in combat,
- Intelligence if they died of a curse, doom, spell, or the like
- Wisdom if they retired to settle down with a family, business, or the like
- Charisma if they retired to nurse their wounds, too traumatized to either live out an adventurers' or a normal life
If multiple categories apply, choose your favorite. If none apply or if the death is really epic or weird, the GM can come up with an appropriate other kind of boon.
(Combine with ensemble cast ability scores as desired.)