This is why the only way to play RPG -- in my very very humble opinion -- is via permadeath. Each death tells you a unique story as to why you optimized your character poorly.
That only sort of makes sense if the part of the game where you can die is the main one. Who would play an RPG that is 50% walking around, talking to people and appreciating the plot with permadeath, meaning you have to redo all this every time and 90% of players will never see the ending?
Agreed — Roguelikes, and AD&D, are the one true path towards good RPGs. The obsession with grand narratives and long-running unkillable parties corrupts the genre into all sorts of poor decisions in the name of role playing. Roleplay through play is the correct system — not through decision trees