There is no death. If you are seriously injured, you are subdued and go unconscious. You are unconscious until tended by a Story Master. Your revival will cost you one random Skills card. This card will be given to the perpetrator of the crime, if they get away with it and aren’t sent to jail. When you are revived, you have no memory of what happened in the last 2 minutes before you were subdued. Of course, you can ask others what they saw and perhaps be able to recreate the scene in your mind and make a case against the attacker.
Serious injuries come from gun shots, melee attacks, poison, back stabbing, dueling – you know, all the normal. Most fights are normal outdoor fights with “real” melee or “real” (nerf) gunshots. If you are carrying a gun that looks good, but doesn’t actually shoot, rock/paper/scissors will determine the winner of the gun battle.
An attacker can choose to wound you in a non-fatal way. Why? Well, to teach you some form of lesson, I suppose. If the attacker stabs you in the leg and says something like, “That was non-fatal.” Then you should howl and yell and wallow in agony and perhaps strike back, but you’re not going to be subdued and go unconscious. Non-fatal wounds are generally not punished by the Law if they are justified. For example, if you are caught cheating at cards and are stabbed in the leg, that stabbing is perfectly legal. Or, if your date is caught looking at the cancan dancer in an unacceptable way, you would certainly be justified in stomping their big toe with your high heels.