I would expect the monks to use some kind of log scoring, and the Prior kills himself if his total score is less than that of any other monk.
As already pointed out, that doesn't mend the perverse incentive that no one wants to be Prior and risk his life constantly. It would make more sense if the worst monk has to kill himself, and the best monk becomes Prior. This is an incentive to be the best and not be the worst.
(And of course, newbies are just 'novices', who aren't subject to the penalties or rewards. They practice until they feel confident they are good enough to compete - and if they aren't, the problem solves itself.)
Tell us a story. A tall tale for King Solamona, a yarn for the folk of Bensalem, a little nugget of wisdom, finely folded into a parable for the pages.
The game is simple:
This isn't a thread for developing new ideas. If you have a novel concept to explore, you should consider making a top-level post on LessWrong instead. This is for sharpening our wits against the mental perils we probably already agree exist. For practicing good thinking, for recognizing bad thinking, for fun! For sanity's sake, tell us a story.