I borrowed the heavy mason thing from your Cairhien game anyway, though it does have the downside of making it less likely one will have dead players available to substitute for an inactive player and tends to mean nights need to be a bit longer. I'd be happy to get back into Shadows of Amador, though a full blown ressurection with new recruitment probably needs - and I think this applies for any mid-game open to new players - to have a page or two of DM-written 'recap' or 'the story so far'.