Poison and plague (and a host of other maledictions) are level based. This means that, if a level 25 shaman communes them on you, a level 1 potion isn't likely to cure you.

Save vs. spell gear will help prevent those communes/spells from landing on you in the first place. Sure, you might have to sacrifice hit/dam/HP to get it, but that's one of those tough choices we've all got to make. What's your priority?

There are healer mobs scattered throughout Thera, many of them not in towns (those are usually just the easiest to find / most convienient following a recall). These are usually cheaper to utilize than potions/pills; you pay less because healers aren't portable.

Believe it or not, there are quite a few potions/pills/staves/scrolls/items/etc. out there that are quite useful for curing poison/plague, are fairly high level, and aren't all that hard to get. I'm not taunting you with this information; I'm telling you that this stuff is out there, be persistent, look for it, and you'll probably find it.

As for the other items on your list, I agree...it sucks to get one-shotted by a ranger, stuck in a prison cell, transed around by mobs, killed by poison, whatever your flavor of the day is. But, at the end of the week, I can pretty much guarantee that: you'll avoid the woods more when that ranger is around, not fall for that prison cell trap again, avoid the demon trasferring mob, have a better shot against poison and plague and, in general, you'll be a better player now than you would if none of those things had happened to you.

It's a pretty steep learning curve, my friend, but the challenge is what makes it great. We've all been there.

Kastellyn the Devourer of Magic, Lord of Legends