Nether only has one character, you can choose different skins but that's it stats and levels are shared. But good attempt at a funny.

I'm not sure how helpful, 'Avoid' people is when bandits jump you as you spawn. But the people above are correct in saying just avoid people for now. It's kind of sad how bandits get their kicks, instead of trying to go after people who might be able to kill them they are content with attacking the new guys trying to learn the game. It only shows how much a coward they are, but their isn't much we can do.

I can't help with the server creation stuff, but good luck and once its up shoot me a message. I would definitely love trying out a roleplay server, sounds like fun.