public final int getCharactersSize() {
        int ret = 0;
        charactersLock.readLock().lock();
        try {
            final Iterator<MapleCharacter> ltr = characters.iterator();
            MapleCharacter chr;
            while (ltr.hasNext()) {
                chr = ltr.next();
                if (!chr.isClone()) {
                    ret++;
                }
            }
        } finally {
            charactersLock.readLock().unlock();
        }
        return ret;
    }