Rerolling is the process of deleting your character and creating a new one. The term derives from tabletop roleplaying games, where a character's stats had to be determined from dice rolls, and thus to "reroll" was to start over with your character. In character in Star Conquest, this process is usually called "retiring" your character.
There are many reasons that people choose to reroll. The best reason to reroll is that you feel your current character's story has been told and you'd like to try something new. If this is your reason, and your character has been well-roleplayed and your account is in good standing, please use the SUPPORT command to speak to a host about your thoughts for ending your current character and transitioning to a new one. We can help you finish your character's story and often even arrange for some of your character's progress (usually just points) to be gradually transferred to the new character. If your character has NOT usually been well-roleplayed, we are less likely to do these things. Please read Policy 14: Minievents for more information.
You should not invent your own wild retirement stories, nor have your next character or your out-of-game friends try to invent things about your old character. In the past, we've had rerolled characters supposedly die in horrible accidents, be drafted into the navy, become an advisor to the president, and somehow turn into a giant Bari, all of which were incompatible with the game's theme. If you want a story for the end of your character besides quiet retirement, you MUST speak to a host.
We have stated the best reason to reroll. There are also many poor reasons to reroll, which are unfortunately more common than good ones. Here are some that we see regularly:
* You did something silly, such as attacking an alliance-mate, and you don't care for the consequences.
* You are unhappy with your organization, but talking to people is hard and rerolling is easy.
* You are unhappy with your boyfriend/girlfriend, but breaking up is frightening and rerolling is easy.
* You did something wrong out-of-character, such as scripting combat, and got a penalty.
There are two things that every good roleplayer learns to deal with: consequences and interpersonal conflict. You cannot expect your character to be happy all of the time. Sometimes, you will do things that your character will just have to live with. Sometimes, you will have to have hard, even unpleasant conversations with other characters. These things are all part of a character's story, not a reason to end it. It's the human experience.
Remember that bad things tend to pass. In roleplaying games, memories are short. If you did something bad, you can probably be turning over a new leaf by next month. If you're in the midst of a bad breakup, you'll probably both have moved on in two weeks. Think twice before destroying a long-term character over short-term issues. It's always better to weave something new into your character's tapestry than to rip the whole thing up and start over.
Playing through a bad situation makes both you and your character stronger. Rerolling is simply a passive-aggressive easy out. We will always encourage players to stick with their characters in situations like these.
If you are committed to rerolling, there is one more important "don't": this is not the time to take parting shots at your former friends, your alliance, your organization, etc., nor is it time to suddenly launch your finest warship with guns blazing to see how much damage you can do. Doing these things with the knowledge that your character won't last the hour is out-of-character and essentially metagaming. If you are going to have it out with other characters, make it part of the ongoing story. The alternative may be satisfying for you, but it's frustrating for everyone else.
If you rerolled purely to avoid consequences or for other essentially out-of-character reasons, your character may be given a "reroll" tag on the WHO list to denote this.
The process to reroll your character is to log out of Star Conquest, log back in, and choose the "Delete Character" option. Follow the prompts, then create a new character at the main menu.
There are three reasons why a character has been deleted:
1) You have violated policy repeatedly or proven yourself unable to play the game without being a detriment to other players or the game itself.
2) You have not played the game in over six months AND had less than 1000 aggregate points.
3) You deleted the character yourself manually, for a reason mentioned above.
With none of the above being true, your character WILL exist in some fashion.
If 1) is true, your character will not be restored under any circumstances. Depending on the situation your account may also have been banned, in which case you will no longer be eligible to play the game.
If 2) is true, then creating a new character with your old account and opening a SUPPORT ticket in order to speak to us is the correct course of action if you wish for your character to be restored. However, if your previous character had not left cadethood or had less than 100 points, we strongly suggested that you simply use the newer character. You may still request a restoration, though we will explain why it is not a good idea. If you have been actively playing the game with your new character prior to the restoration request then it will be denied.
If 3) is true, there is a 48 hour 'Deleter's Remorse' grace period where you may create a new character and open a SUPPORT ticket in order to have the deleted character restored. Beyond this point, we will NOT restore a manually deleted character. If you create a new character and actively play the game with the new character, the grace period is rendered void.
Be aware that the nature of the deletion will also play a part in whether the character is restored - accidentally choosing 'Delete Character' and somehow confirming twice is one thing. Screaming over the comm that you hate everyone and are going to go help the Outsiders exterminate humanity before deleting is another.
To play a character different to your current one, you MUST delete your current character. Multiple accounts are against policy as stated in Policy 9, and there is no need to create a new account if a CHARACTER has been deleted. Accounts do NOT get deleted.
Occasionally you may TEMPORARILY be unable to delete your character - this will always be for a specific reason: You are in a liaison role, you are active in the middle of an ongoing plotline, you are not in a location that makes sense for a character to 'retire' from, or you have specifically requested that we make you unable to delete your character.
What will be restored along with your character?
When a character is restored, all points they had at the point of deletion will also be restored, as will any credits they had on them at that point.
However, items are usually unrecoverable and cannot be returned to you - the character will most likely be naked and have no containers. Any clothing, books, workbenches, etc that they had are gone. Any robots or other items will likewise be gone, as will apartments.
Starships are not immediately purged upon their destruction or the deletion of a character but ARE removed from the game world and are placed in a temporary 'limbo'. After a grace period any starship in this location will be deleted. If the restoration of the character occurs before the next starship recycling, there is a POSSIBILITY that any ships previously owned by that player can be restored. If it is after the starship recycling period, the character's ships will be gone forever.
This is why an idle-purged character that was relatively new will often not be restored, as without ships or items it becomes very difficult for a 'new' character to play the game.
