Ability scores generation method? 3d6 in order. Humans only for now. Modifiers as per B/X.
How are death and dying handled? 0 is unconscious, -1 is dead.
What about raising the dead? Some priests, for a fee. Clerics can gain this ability as well. Or sell your soul.
How are replacement PCs handled? Draw from a stack rolled by Ram, you get one veto. Stack stays the same until it runs out, then I’ll get twelve more.
Initiative: individual, group, or something else? Group. Roll 1d6, high roll wins.
Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? 1 fumbles, 20 is critical. I picked up Arduin recently for the crits.
Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet? Right now we’re using ablative armor. So they help you not die.
Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly? Yes! But we work it out on a case by case basis.
Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything? Not everything is killable. Some things are not killable. Many things are willing to talk as well. The monsters are not scaled to your level.
Level-draining monsters: I have zero experience running these monsters. So no, for now.
Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death? Yes, but not a failed save that you didn’t see coming.
How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked? I try to keep encumbrance simple so it doesn’t require a lot of tracking. I bought tokens for food and arrows and stuff.
What’s required when my PC gains a level? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time? Nothing except being in a place of moderate safety. Spells have to be learned through play. You can learn them wherever, though it takes some time.
What do I get experience for? Treasure removed from the dungeon, killing monsters, discovering new places, carousing.
How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination? I try to have them findable through description, but you can roll if that’s your thing. Sometimes I just tell you “it’s trapped.”
Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work? I use B/X morale and retainers are a lot of fun! Not meat shields. Also, if you die and you have a retainer, you are now your retainer (as opposed to rolling a new PC).
How do I identify magic items? Magic Users are decent at this. I like Jeff’s idea of Read Magic.
Can I buy magic items? How about just potions? It would be rare, but some random shaman or witch may have one or two items of dubious origin to sell. But largely it’s not a market you have access too. Buying a magic items is handled more like it is in fairy tales as opposed to video games. You may not be sure what you’re getting.
Can I create magic items? When and how? If it’s something you really want to do, we’ll work it out. MUs can craft scrolls for 100GP and 1 week (if spell is for caster), making scrolls for other people is more annoying since we’re using a level-less magic system.
What about splitting the party? Great! We do it all the time. I love it.