UPDATE: The system now does not take into consideration the player corpses you are carrying, this way you can save your buddies without any problem. PLUS, we also made it that you lose -1 skill for each 10 lbs you carry above your maximum capacity. We will keep you informed on any further changes. Keep giving us feedbacks.
Hedge magic reagents are a mean to reward those players that gather groups and take them "out there" exploring. When a DM is not logged there is usually less reason to bring a group to explore because there is no tangible way to show progress in whatever the exploration is trying to accomplish. That is why we introduced hedge magic. Going to where you know reagents will spawn, invisible and alone, is unfair, inconsiderate and selfish.