All very good points, thanks for the information too, there is a lot I dont know about rpg maker.
Crackerlacker is supposed to work like that, later on it is the engine driving other swagrelated abilities.
XP even if dead should be a given, did not realize that was not happeningen.
Once you have defeated the mother you get a lot more opportunities to grind if you want to. It is not necessary. The lowest level I have managed to beat the final demoboss at (you will know it when you get to it) is a party of three at level 11. You can probably grind up to 17-18 in this version if you really want to.
Oh, forgot to say, when it comes to butchering the fish, yes it is more than just a text change. Not saving them is one of the requirements for doing a "dark run" which has some implications in this edition but will create increasingly bigger changes later on.