Twenty Answers

 In response to this questionnaire:

1. Ability scores generation method?
Either a 75-point buy or 4d6 drop lowest; when rolling, you can place the result in any slot you like, but you have to choose before rolling again.

2. How are death and dying handled?
Knocked out at 0 hp; roll under CON to keep from losing more HP; every time you go down, roll over the absolute value of your hp (so if you have -3, you'd need to roll 4 or higher); failure to do so indicates death. Going down to -10 in a single attack = instant death.

3. What about raising the dead?
Possible, but high-level NPCs are pretty rare in my game, so it's an epic quest to find one until the PCs themselves are high enough.

4. How are replacement PCs handled?
I waffle on this; part of me wants to say start at 1st level again, but if the party is really high, I'll have the new character start at 1/2 the average level.

5. Initiative; individual, group, or something else?
Individual. d20 + DEX mod, plus others, possibly.

6.Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work?
No crits or fumbles.

7. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?
The benefit of not getting clocked upside the head; I use the "50% of attacks hit the AC 10 head" rule if someone wants to be fashionable and show off their facial tattoos.

8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?
Yes, oh yes, you can.

9. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?
Whether you run or not is up to you, but don't expect everything to be tailored to your abilities.

10. Level-draining monsters; yes or no?
Yes.

11. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?
Yes, but I won't pull them on you by surprise, so you'll always know you risk that. Rumors of the wizard's evil spells or signs of a trap's previous victims, that sort of thing.

12. How strictly are encumbrance and resources tracked?
I use the Lamentations of the Flame Princess chart for encumbrance, and beads for other consumable resources.

13. What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time?
You level up when you can relax and learn from your experience. No training necessary, but spells must be found and researched. "Relaxing" can be as brief as sleeping one night.

14. What do I get experience for?
Combat, including 1 point per every point of damage taken, and for every g.p. taken from the dungeon and spent in a character-appropriate manner. Plus bonuses for doing something clever or cool.

15. How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?
Description, mainly. I don't use "Spot" or "Perception" checks, but I will describe the setting accurately and fairly.

16. Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?
They definitely are, using a 2d6 morale roll, influenced by CHA. They need to be paid, but unless you're financing an army, the financial/XP drain won't be that great.

17. How do I identify magic items?
Detect Magic is an innate talent of Magic-Users in my game, but it takes ten minutes per level of spell to identify it; alternately, players can cast the Detect Magic spell.

18. Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?
You can buy some limited potions. There is no market for magic items, as they are rare in my game.

19. Can I create magic items? When and how?
At a high-enough level, wizards can conduct research to create magic items. They need a laboratory and plenty of time to do so.

20. What about splitting the party?
I allow it. It is usually an unwise decision, however, as "Divide" precedes "Conquer".

cheers,
Adam