Reset

In May 2005, the board membership decided to 'reset' the main roleplaying timeline. This was followed with the expansion of the roleplaying section on SW-Fans.Net in early 2006.

Roleplaying Reset

Reasons for Reset

Since its inception in 1999, SW-Fans.Net had never had an official timeline set down, allowing players to pick and choose the timeline they wished to roleplay in. Unfortunately, six years of roleplaying had led to confusion as to who was roleplaying when, as well as issues concerning the ownership of planets and claims on particular parts of the Star Wars galaxy. Prior to the release of Episode III, the members voted to 'reset' the roleplaying universe.

Results of Reset

The reset resulted in a single timeline that all characters and stories would exist within. The timeline was set so as to follow immediately after the Battle of Endor (as seen in Return of the Jedi), however notable differences were set out for the aftermath of the battle:

• All major characters seen in the Star Wars films were assumed to have died in the battle (to prevent roleplayers claiming film characters).
• The Death Star II was assumed to have survived (though severely damaged).
• The Rebels had not been victorious and had been forced to flee from the battle.
• The Empire had suffered huge losses but still managed to survive (although the Emperor and Darth Vader had both been killed).

The end result was an attempt at balancing the sides in the conflict and paving the way for a new storyline to develop from the end of the films.

The reset also forced some roleplaying groups to alter themselves to fit in with the new timeline, such as The New Republic changing itself into the The Rebel Alliance. The most notable alteration was that of the Greater Jedi Order, which could not exist at the time of the films, and so was retitled The Jedi Enclave and was recreated as a loose gathering of Jedi that had hidden from the Empire. As the board underwent a major rehaul, in terms of style and content, the hundreds of thousands of old posts were moved into the 'Classic Fans' archive, where they remain accessible to anyone who wishes to read them.

Addition of General Roleplaying

In addition to the reset, the roleplaying section was expanded in January 2006 to include a general roleplaying area. This section was added to allow roleplayers to roleplay in different scenarios and settings separate from the standard Star Wars setting that had prevailed since 1999, offering members a chance to experience something fresh and new. Several different roleplaying settings were established, including World of Darkness (a reality/dark fantasy setting), Mutants, Unite (an X-Men inspired setting) and Myth (a sword & sorcery setting).