Help! I've lost my character!

Characters are always wandering off and getting lost. At least that's how it seems when reading forum posts and Account Management (and Tech and In-game) inquiries. There are two common reasons for this (besides the "my girlfriend/wife/husband/boyfriend was mad at me and deleted my characters" option).

The first is that you could be on a different server. Characters are always specific to the server they are created on (unless you move them with a Premium Services World Character Transfer, and then they are specific to the new server). To be sure you are on the right server, you can simply log into each available server and see if your characters are listed. To be sure you're checking all the servers, it is best to make a list and check them off, as they do re-arrange themselves with the most recently visited at the top of the list.
You can also log into the forums, click the "User CP" button and then look at the characters available as avatars. Please note that this may not display the current server if you have ever moved your characters.

The second is that you are logging into the wrong account or subscription. Characters are also specific to an individual subscription on a specific account. If you use a different username or select a different subscription nickname when logging into the game, you may not find your character. Be sure you're spelling the username correctly. If you have more than one subscription for DDO on that account, be sure you're picking the right nickname to log into.

If you can't find your characters on any server, and don't know or remember a previous username, or upgraded the wrong account/subscription, please contact the Account Managment department. They will be happy to research the issue for you. Contact options are located in my signature.

Please also note that we did merge servers in August of 2007. Please see below for the list of servers and their merge locations. You can also see the official forum post for this here.

-If you played on Argonnessen or Mabar, you will now find your characters and belongings on Argonnessen.
-If you played on Fernia, Lhazzar or Ghallanda, you will now find your characters and belongings on Ghallanda.
-If you played on Aerenal, Adar, or Sarlona, you will now find your characters and belongings on Sarlona.
-If you played on Xoriat, Tharashk, or Thelanis, you will now find your characters and belongings on Thelanis.
-If you played on Aundair, Riedra or Khyber, you will now find your characters and belongings on Khyber.

If 2 characters with the same name were merged onto a server, the one that was most recently played would keep the name. The other would have an additional "-server" at the end of the name.

For example, there was a character Bob on the server Khyber who was played every day. There was also a character Bob on the Aundair server, who was played for 3 months after launch. When the servers were merged, Bob who was on Khyber and played every day would keep the name, while Bob from Aundair would become Bob-Khyber.

If this is the case, you do get a free rename out of the deal. You can log into that character and type "/rename newname" where "newname" is the name you'd want your character to have now. For instance, you could use "/rename George" and your character would now be George.