The Shortening Rules Questions

[The Giant]

I've got a question for the Shortening:

The backstory card Doesn't Get Sidetracked awards points for ending a turn in a Xykon's Lair room that isn't Safe Haven. However, if you're playing with Wandering Xykon then there is no Xykon's Lair, making it impossible to get those points. Should that card just be replaced at the beginning of the game?

Yes, but the easiest way to do it is to not worry about it unless someone draws that Backstory. Just let them discard it and draw another one.

I just got the Shortening!
Looks great, and interesting. I have one important concern, however.

Why would the Helium Elemental be an exploding monster? Helium is a meek, inert, non-combustible gas, as noble as the posher Xenons. There is a reason Helium is used in children's baloons. The go pop, at worst, not explode! This terrible, elementist misrepresentation of this friendly gas significantly reduces the product value for me.

"Exploding" does not necessarily imply a fiery conflagration. In this case, the Helium Elemental makes everyone's voices so high and squeaky that they fall over laughing and die suddenly due to undiagnosed heart malformations.