Royce Forman - The Smiling Man

[TheSmilingMan]

The Smiling Man

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Aka: The Sming Man; Roy Freeman, Robin French, Randal Fort, Robert Falters, Raymond Fendle, Rodger Fenton, and many more.

This is long overdue. Royce was a great ride that seemed like it was going to be a rocket to the moon, but RL swallowed me up for over a month and the world he'd be coming back into was one he didn't have a place in. It was great fun while it lasted and I'm really thankful to everyone who made the concept as enjoyable as it was on both sides. Team Good was incredibly gracious and I think the most fun I had was interacting with captured enemies, or as a captured victim. A huuuuge shout out to all the members of Team Cyric, there were a lot of different faces over the course of the PC including some that probably weren't expecting to end up working with Royce, and you guys kept things interesting. One of my favorite PCs I've ever played, and certainly the most enjoyable to roleplay as, and thank you to everyone who put up with his insanity on both team good and team evil to get to know the man behind the madness.

There's too many people through the whole server to mention specific names, but Zerotje and Own were a big support late in the game, and BTH's constant talk about maybe someday bringing his Cyric guy back kept my hope alive. RwG and Sem take the cake as my favorite captured victims, one inspired a crazy event that was obviously the highlight of my PC's career and the other performed a sock puppet play at swordpoint that I wish I got some screenshots of. You guys are all amazing and the interactions I had with your PCs as Royce reminds me why I love EfU, and why you're all the best community out there. You're the gold standard.

Keep on shining EfU, you cool cats.

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After defeating a Minotaur in Elmo's arena event Royce acquired a minotaur's horn which allowed him to turn into a Minotaur. The fight was Royce's coming-out as a were-wolf to all of Sanctuary and changed him in the eyes of the server from a creepy weirdo who always seemed to be grinning at a joke no one else was in on to a terrible monsterman that needed to be stopped. Being already able to turn into a were-wolf the item was completely useless, but he got a great opportunity to stand next to this creepy looking dude and look cool.

Later he would reward the horn to Zerotje's barbarian for the man's zealous faith in Cyric.

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Royce Forman killed a lot of cave bears. They weren't willing to negotiate the sale of their children to serve as pack animals in Sunshine Village... Because they're bears and they can't talk.

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He had a love-hate relationship with Councilor Nez. Although she was a dirty heretic who worshiped a false god, and his eventual goal was to sacrifice her in Sunshine Village, she consistently brought him gifts and did him favors buying herself his good will. The ultimate culmination of the relationship being her ascension to the Council and appointing Royce her Deputy. Royce had no interest in political power and intended to use his newfound ability to enter Sanctuary exclusively to rob the Bank with his cultists, and use the money to purchase an army of slaves from Sorrowfeast Island. He'd bring them to Sunshine Village, and set free anyone who converted to Cyric and agreed to live there. Anyone who refused would be put into a pile and set on fire.

Here's a text chunk of him buying potions to prepare for his bank robbery/betrayal.

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Royce was a serious man with a serious plan in spite of his jovial demeanor. He treated the world like it was one big joke because he was under the impression he couldn't be killed thanks to the favor of Cyric, so there was no need to take anything incredibly too seriously, but he always had an agenda.

After a long and arduous fight with Watcher Jesse Taphar Royce set about explaining that he used to be a guardsman too in Zhentilkeep, and he wanted a uniform to remember his past fondly with. Coincidentally a uniform would help him sneak into Sanctuary and capture a powerful priest of a false god who's blood he was planning to use to sanctify Sunshine Village to Cyric. After kicking Jesse in the stomach repeatedly for a long period of time the Watcher generously agreed to donate his uniform and keys to The Smiling Man.

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Royce captured a pair of Silverlights early in their appearance in Sanctuary. His plan was to force them to make a sending begging their allies to come ransom their freedom, but they claimed they had no friends or allies in Sanctuary and that if he let them live they'd hunt him down and murder him. Eventually Royce got bored trying to get them to cooperate and wandered off to do something else.

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I forget who this is. Here's Royce and the converted Jesse Taphar capturing him and taunting him. Royce was all about chatting with people he captured and showing off how little he took them seriously. I THINK this was a Roachman. It's been a while..

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Royce would occasionally hang out in the Pyrimo hoping to run into other players when no one was around to interact with. It was supposed to be a way to find people to roleplay with, or to help him find Exiles through which to get the Baron of Mur to agree to provide supplies and labor to build Sunshine Village. Once he ran into Stranger's craaazy Exile worm man and they hit it off. Worm Man agreed to become the Sheriff of Sunshine Village in return for sanctuary there and protection from his enemies.

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Halabad and the Covenant did not like that Worm Man was the Sheriff of Sunshine Village. Royce never carried a weapon and fought with enchanted gloves, or wolf form. These facts make the above encounter humorous, as Halabad is aware of this and ignore's Royce's claims of being unarmed. You are encouraged to laugh during this portion of the obituary. Shortly thereafter Halabad and Shakti chased Royce out of Lower by beating him with axes until he made it to Upper Sanctuary.

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Pictured above is Royce learning the Mayor of Sanctuary actually appointed Nez to the Council.

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The Smiling Man wanted to cause trouble for Sanctuary in every way he could. Although he rarely had concrete plans it was his goal to make Sanctuary SO awful that Sunshine Village would seem like a reasonable choice when considering where to live. Hopefully then triggering a massive exodus from Sanctuary to his Cyricist holyland. Thus to prepare himself for any number of zany schemes he wanted to acquire Watcher and Warder uniforms of the highest ranks possible. He'd tell his captured Watchers and Warders he was getting ready for a Highharvestide costume festival and wanted to borrow their outfits. This likely please The Prince of Lies, as it was untrue.

Pictured above is Watcher Robin French.

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During one of my week long absences from EfU a crusade of good PCs raided Sunshine Village and killed Royce's PC citizens, a coven of necromancers called The Ghoul Pit. While Royce would have been fine with the necromancers being murdered outside Sunshine Village he couldn't take an armed invasion of Sunshine Village sitting down. So he plotted to capture Sem's Warder to interrogate him and learn the entire story of the attack on Sunshine Village including the names of the attackers, so he could sacrifice those responsible.

Upon seeing Sem's Warder and inviting him to Sunshine Village for a "chat with his pal the Smiling Man" Sem's Warder actually just.. Agreed.. And came along. The interrogation was not what I expected, in that Sem's Warder gave up the information for free and even enacted it out as a puppet show using items from his backpack to represent people. The show was so impressive Royce allowed Sem's Warder to donate his uniform to the cause of revenge.

Pictured above is Warder Raymond Fendle.

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Here's Watcher Robin French with Zerotje's barbarian Gregour walking into the House of Governance trying to find RwG's Councilor to kidnap him and bring him to Sunshine Village. Much like many of Royce's plans there's no solid idea of where to go once they've succeeded, but the general idea is to collect up a big bucket of his blood, and sprinkle it everywhere to consecrate the village to Cyric with a heretic high-priest's blood.

Having the element of surprise, and Zerotje's knock down feat, they capture the Councilor with surprising ease and spirit him away to the Village with Sanctuary's defenders close on their heels.

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Almost immediately upon arrival all of Sanctuary shows up demanding the Councilor's release. Royce explains he just needs a teeny tiny bucket of blood and then he'll let the Councilor go. The Sanctuarians aren't having it. Which is when the Councilor suggests a duel between a champion of Sanctuary and Sunshine Village to decide.

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Royce was going to fight this guy, but then Geoffrey stepped in to take his place. I don't have a screenshot of that so use your imagination, Geoffrey was beautiful. A cool fight ensues where Royce battles current Councilor Geoffrey Beaufort to the death. After winning the duel Royce finds that those slippy Sanctuarians aren't willing to give up so easily, and a huge melee erupts in an attempt to rescue the Councilor.

Thankfully Royce, having just been engaged in a duel, is buffed out of his mind with every potions imaginable. While the Sanctuarians are drinking theirs he and his allies subdue or chase off the entire town.

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The ritual begins!

And what sort of Ritual would it be if you didn't force a bunch of captured good guys to drink ale and watch. The Councilor is surrounded by a mountain of relic guardian relics and begins to perform a ritual to Cyric at sword point (coincidentally it sounds a lot like a ritual to Tempus).

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But Cyric doesn't mind! Here he is throwing blood everywhere to celebrate Team Cyric's good work.

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Cyric also likes red light.

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Overall Cyric finds the whole thing hilarious and gives The Smiling Man and friends an A+ for creativity.

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The Smiling Man then fades into legend. Here he is waving you all goodbye before taking off on his next grand adventure. Where is he now? The Smiling Man is believed to be dead; and he must let the world think that he is dead, until he can find a way to control the raging 1960's slang that rages within...

WHACKY RPG BONUS SCREENSHOTS!!!!11!!!1!

Spogus Nogus!
Remember him guys?
Trying to capture a hundred women and force them to marry him?
'Member guys?


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Here he got ambushed by a cult of slime worshipers back when he was level 5 and got 4 crits in a row and beat them all down singlehanded.

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Here he is explaining to his new crew of slime cult underlings how they're going to help him put women in a big burlap sack so he can marry them, and thus never have to cook for himself again.

What a whacky character. Let's appreciate him for a while. Maybe retcon that time he was executed in the Lower Fortress for marrying the Chief Engineer. Right guys? 'Member? DMs? Right? Retcon?

Please?

 

[bestbeard]

Very kewl PC, RPG, you scum-swimming piece of shit.  I loved the Royce-Nev thing, very enjoyable.

[goate]

Very kewl PC, RPG, you scum-swimming piece of shit. I loved the Royce-Nev thing, very enjoyable.

[Wench]

You're my favorite deputy!!!

[zDark Shadowz]

I always imagined that MC Hammer song playing whenever I heard of his antics.

[Silvermoon Dervish]

Man, what a blast from the past!

I'll never forget that chase at the Dark Shore. It was the first time I felt legit *fear* in NWN. A really great villain.

[ByVraccas]

More?

[Kinslayer988]

AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO werewolves in sanctuary

AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[zerotje]

Lovely character and it was a fun group concept. Too bad it's over, don't know what to do with this Cyric tattoo...

[One_With_Nature]

Yes

[EnterTheThunderGnome]

All of my screenshots are now gone, but feel free to use the space below to praise me anyway

[RagingPurpleGiant]

This guy was awesome

[putrid_plum]

He was a cool guy but a crappy neighbor, a shame he never brought me any cups of sugar...