Any to reduce encounter rate?

[webgrunt]

First, let me say this a fantastic game. One of the best I've played in a long while!

Now, on to my problem. I'm in the mansion now, but I've been having this problem for a while. The encounter rate is way too high for me, and it's ruining my game experience. I want to play in story mode, but if I understand correctly, that means I have to go all the way back to the beginning.

Is there any way to drastically reduce the encounter rate without starting over from the beginning?

[Mystsong]

Nope. Sorry man. You can buy beast repellent in some towns, but that's only temporary.

[webgrunt]

Ok, thank you. :-)