after playing some more, i have a suggestion that may or may not throw off the gameplay balance. so please feel free to ignore it completely...lol.
some times when you have a bunch of characters on the board, you choose which one will move based on whether they might get screwed by the number on the dice. this gets you into the situation sometimes, that when you roll the dice, no matter who you choose, they are going to feel pain. if there was an option for the player to 'pass' or not move at all. they could avoid getting roughed up by traps, potions and enemies. the counter-balance to this in my eyes would be, the opposing player would get an 'extra' turn of mobility.