Hmmm, did 4 quick tests, just idling in the capital and generating turns. Settings were Growth+3, Turmoil+3, Luck+3, rest flat, events common.
After 40 turns I had between 11k and 18k pop left. So it seems if you're trying to maximize the frequency and quality of events, you have to accept a death scale like... +15?
Cool! From now on, I think I'll stick with Death+3 with this kind of setup. At least I might get a huge number of death gems from events and from Raven Feast, and summon a bunch of Mound Fiends to raise the biggest army of soulless ever.