> Monsters are killed too easily since the main defense in the system is to "Parry", which cannot generally be done without a manufactured weapon.
My players might disagree with that
That is only really an issue if you use a lot of monsters. My campaign tends more to human threats, cultists, brigands and the like. When it comes to monsters I use Orcs and Goblins. You will find a lot of debate on the use of sword and shield and parry rules, I've just never run into any issues with my players. Lucky I guess.
But, even a monster has no need to rely on Parry. The Dodge Blow skill can be used by monsters, assuming that they have it.