Additionally, my understanding is that a lot of the cleaning done by washing your hands is mechanical, and using a paper towel with a slightly rough and absorbent surface scrapes off all the stuff that has been loosened by washing with soap and water.
Ever since the tree bloomed in the year 0, now known as the awakening, fear of death has lost its power. The world has changed, ever since the tree started bearing its fruit - strange pods containing the repaired and revitalized bodies of the recently deceased.
While the pain of death remains, the permanence is gone. Adventurers and thrill seekers run amok with diminished consequences. Further, aging and illness is now merely an inconvenience, with reanimation the solution.
33 years have passed. Fear of death has become an old world superstition among the remaining “firsters”; the slur used by the reanimated to mock those who still cling fearfully to their first lives.
Scattered groups of people have been researching the tree and the reborn citizens since year 0 with growing discomfort. Without death, the population is booming and expanding rapidly. Gradually the population of “firsters” is dwindling. You belong to one such group of firsters. Is your fear justified? Or are you a part of a dying age, afraid to let go of the old ways…
*religion formed around the tree *massive palace at its base and deep into its roots serves as religious headquarters and barracks for defenders of the tree. *coming of age death ritual for children who have not died by age 16 *DM needs to make sure at least 1 party member is reborn during their quest