- How will PC death be handled? Respawn with an XP and gold penalty?
Upon dying, your PC's spirit journeys to an oubliette in the near Ethereal. You must navigate this fog-shrouded maze to find a portal to return you to the Core. However, this does not return you to life. Your spirit must then find its body (which lies at the spot where you died) and rejoin with it to come back from the brink of death. If another PC casts
raise dead or
resurrection, you will instantly be brought back to your body, no matter where your spirit is. There is no XP loss. All gold carried and some of your items will be stored on your corpse. Note that it is possible for another player to loot your corpse while you are in spirit form.
- How will logging out be handled? The PC is considered to go to a safe place and sleep, or he/she just stands there?
We do not have a special logging procedure. You can log out wherever you like. However, it might not be a good idea to log out in the wilderness or a dungeon, as the next time you log in you might find yourself surrounded by monsters. There are inns you can stay in which are safe.
- Are there demi-human characters?
Yes.
- Can we take natives? Outlanders?
You can play natives, but we ask that your character not be native to Barovia. Outlanders are acceptable for the most part as well, though we ask that you do not try to make some of the more exotic races from some settings (i.e. half-giants and thri-kreen from Dark Sun, Warforged from Eberron, any of the wacky Spelljammer races, etc.)
- Are there any special feats?
Yes. We have adapted a handful of Ravenloft-specific feats (Warding Gesture, Sharp Eyes, Soothing Presence, and Willbreaker), and more will be added in future updates.
- How is resting handled?
You get a limited amount of rests per day (I think it's currently 3 per game day). Some places do not allow you to rest--i.e. you can't just camp out in the middle of the street in Vallaki.
- Is there any permanent ability damage?
I think a few monsters might do this, at least the damage is permanent until
restoration is cast
- Energy drain?
Yes.
- Will there be wandering monsters in the wilderness?
Absolutely. And the monsters you encounter differ depending on whether it's day or night.
- Are there NPC dialogs that open quests for a PC to play without DM suppervision?
A few. Most of the automated quests are simplistic--we designed it this way on purpose so it would make sense for people to be continually doing them. Nothing ruins immersion more than rescuing the King's daughter six times in one day.
- Is that the Beta Version or the finished version?
It's our second beta
- How is arcane magic treated (I think on taking a wizard)?
I'm not sure if it's been implemented yet, but we plan on having townsfolk not taking too kindly to magic being cast in their presence.
Supersticions?
I think you'll find the Barovians to be suitably superstitious
Power checks?
These will be handled strictly by DMs. Basically, the DMs can be considered the Dark Powers. Instead of an automated check, a DM's discretion can determine if you're crossing the line into darkness.
How rare are scrolls?
Few stores sell them, and those that do only do it in secret. Likewise, most stores won't buy them. You'll most likely only find them as treasure.
Can we learn spells from aquired spellbooks?
No, but you can learn them from scrolls.
- Can a character make magic items (like in the HoU)?
Not yet, but we're working on it.
- How usual are magic items? (I'm pretty sure the Vallaki blacksmith isn't handing out +2 swords, right?)
There is *one* merchant in Vallaki who sells a few +1 items at a HUGE mark-up. Otherwise, you'll have to find your magic items as treasure. The highest you'll ever find is +3, and those are rare in the extreme.
I can't be there until 2-november. And generaly my access to the server will be sparse. I'll be able to log in a few nights in a row every 2 weeks. 
Ah well, I guess that's why many people in the NWN community say persistent worlds are always a work-in-progress.