It would seem that my old characters no longer exist. Unless I have to pay a sub to get access to them, I did not see them when I viewed my server in the free version...
Characters level 10 and above are normally kept by Daybreak forever, unless deleted by the player. You are limited to a certain number per server, so if a server merge causes you to have over that number, I'm not sure how it is handled. You should not have to pay to access your characters, however, you can only access some of them. By default, you can only access two per server with Free to Play. See: http://everquest.fanra.info/wiki/Free_to_play#Membership_matrix
im pretty sure you can only create 2 toons on a free account, if they are already created and then your account turns silver, you can still play them
He would be returning as a Silver and have 4 slots. Could buy dolls of character for more slots from loyalty vendor where he will have tons of points
I have fairly recent experience with this. I came back and found 4 toons on one server, two on another server, and one on yet another. I had been gone for a VERY long time, since about 2003 I think. I also had a boatload (for me, anyway) of plat in my shared bank from having sold in the bazaar for a while just before I quit. My understanding is that if your toons are over a certain level, you can't play them without subscribing. I certainly didn't have that problem, since none of mine are anywhere near that level yet.
You're thinking of WoW. EQ has no such limitation (i.e. 110 can play for free*) * - to hit 110, you'd need to have purchased RoS. "free" meaning, no monthly sub. Without ever paying anything, you can still create a char and level to 105.
Excatly. I have currently one All Access and 4 silver accounts. I can access all characters on all 5 of my accounts.
