Twenty Questions About Tekralh...

With the character generation workshop for my new campaign only a few weeks away, this seems like a good time to address Brendan's Twenty Quick Rules Questions (as highlighted on his Untimately blog):

• Ability scores generation method? For humans 4d6, drop lowest, six times and arrange to suit. For non-humans different dice arrangements, but rolled in order.
• How are death and dying handled? As I'm using Crypts & Things as my core rules, player-characters have Hit Points (as normal), but once those are gone they start taking damage from their Constitution - and it's only when that is exhausted that they are dead. 
• What about raising the dead? It's possible, but very, very rare. The players would need to find a high level wizard, with knowledge of the correct rituals, and even then there's no guarantee that the deceased would come back "right".
• How are replacement PCs handled? It's possible for a dead player-character's retainer or henchman to be "promoted" to full player-character status, otherwise it's roll up a new character and start from scratch.
• Initiative: individual, group, or something else? I'd like to do individual initiatives as that gives certain characters a mechanical edge; however in larger-scale combats where there are designated "leaders" or "commanders" then we're looking at group initiative.
• Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? Maximum damage for criticals, but no fumbles unless it's appropriate through role-playing (ie. the PC rolls a string of "1"s, then he'll probably have some kind of accident).
• Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet? It's already accounted for in your armour class, but it'll certainly help if you have something dropped on your head.
• Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly? Of course - silliness is the best way to kill (or injure) your fellow party members. So, please, go ahead...
• Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything? There is no such thing as a balanced encounter. Some creatures will be (almost) unbeatable for low-level characters, while others will fall over with a single sword tap. It's up to the player-characters to find out which are which are.
• Level-draining monsters: yes or no? Not initially.
• Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death? No. "Save Vs Death" traps cause crippling injuries etc
• How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked? Very superficially. Some of my players are accountants and don't want to be reminded of their jobs when they're supposed to be playing a game.
• 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? It happens between adventures and players are considered to be "training" while they are adventuring.
• What do I get experience for? Killing or avoiding monsters, exploration, good roleplaying etc Everything except finding treasure - that's its own reward.
• How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination? A combination. A clever or lucky description by a player will gain them a bonus on their skill check.
• Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work? They most certainly are, but if they're not treated well (and rewarded for their efforts) there's every possibility they'll desert when the going gets tough.
• How do I identify magic items? Either by a sorcerer or a sage... or trial and error.
• Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? No. The only potions that might be available for sale will be non-magical, minor healing ones.
• Can I create magic items? When and how? Yes, if you are high enough level and it requires a lot of research and hard graft.
• What about splitting the party? Of course, see my answer above about party silliness!