And my 20 Answers

I wonder if this meme that Brendan started, being over 24 hours old, is now too stale for the blogosphere.  We've got such short attention spans these days.  Well, here are my answers anyway.  I think I'll put them down here, then re-post them in my Facebook gaming group, just so folks can see where I stand and maybe they'll post their own there.

For reference, this pertains to my Megadungeon, if I ever start running it again.  If I get a game of Flying Swordsmen going over the summer, there will be differences.

1. Ability scores generation method?  3d6 six times, arrange to taste, OR 4d6-L in order rolled.  Choose before rolling, of course.
2. How are death and dying handled?  0 hit points?  See question 1.
3. What about raising the dead?  High enough level?  Cast it.
4. How are replacement PCs handled?  If the party is heading back to town soon, they'll pick you up there.  If that seems unlikely, I'll work the new PC in somehow (I'm not bad at improvising).
5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else?  Group, rolled every round.  Saves me a bit of hassle.
6. Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work?  None.
7. Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet?  Chicks dig the horns.  (I assume any suit of armor has a helmet, I don't get all Gygaxian with head injuries and ear seekers.)
8. Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly?  Depends on what level of the dungeon you're on ("Player shots cannot hurt other players...yet.")  Seriously, no, it's again just a hassle I don't think the game needs.
9. Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything?  You don't NEED to run.  But see questions 1 and 2 above if you don't when you should.  If you're clever, though, yes, you CAN kill everything.  It's up to you to figure out how in some cases.
10. Level-draining monsters: yes or no?  YES!!!
11. Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death?  YES!!!
12. How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked?  Not very for encumbrance; resources however (torches, arrows, food, hit points, spells, etc.) I do want tracked.
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?  No training, but I probably won't dole out XP until you haul your sorry ass back to town or camp or something.  Just as I don't require fighter types to tell me they're sharpening blades and polishing armor, your M-U is assumed to be studying spells, and gaining a level is that Eureka moment when it finally makes sense.
14. What do I get experience for?  Gold, monsters, and clever ideas.  Make me gut laugh, and you may get a bonus as well.
15. How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination?  Try descriptions first, and only roll dice if the description fails.  If players just stumble through one missing the clues, I'll make a roll for you behind the screen.
16. Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work?  Retainers are not encouraged or discouraged.  Up to you.  Morale works by the book (BX/BECMI/RC style, not AD&D).
17. How do I identify magic items?  Test them out.  I may also adapt J. Rients' idea that read magic spells can identify what exactly you've got.
18. Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions?  If you find someone who's got a magic item, and make them the right offer, they may take you up on it.  That will more or less be an adventure in and of itself.  You can buy potions by the book in BX/BECMI/RC.  It's called hiring an alchemist to brew them for you.
19. Can I create magic items? When and how?  As per Holmes, M-Us (and Elves) can create scrolls from Level 1.  It takes 100gp per spell level and 1 week of down time per scroll.  Name level spell-casters can make anything, and name level Dwarves can create weapons/armor/rings.
20. What about splitting the party?  Feel free.  Again, I can improvise.  Plus, I get to make two (or more) wandering monster checks ever other turn!