I appreciate any feedback for the game, so thanks for taking the time and describing your experience. I'll keep an eye and ear out to see if this issue affects more players and adjust if necessary. The situation you describe where "rest = death" is very rare and something you can prepare and mitigate when you get to know the game better and consider your options during a fight. It is a turn based game, so taking a moment to considering your options as opposed to blasting through everyone is desired fot this kind of game.
I mentioned modding because it's going to be the major feature planned for v0.4, but there are plans for the main game to be able to remove some components you don't enjoy during the new game start and reduce difficulty through that at the cost of final score.
PS: When running away you can try to use trees and bushes on your path to make enemies lose sight, their indicators will turn yellow and they will try to track you for a moment, but if you can stay hidden they won't follow.