Teen Mystics or Magical Girls For CHAMPIONS campaigns

[Mark Rand]

Tree of Life Congregation, affectionately known as The Tree, is a Conservative Jewish synagogue located in a former church on Fayetteville Street.  The Clark family lives nearby.  The building, and the old rectory, now the rabbi’s house, are near the Masjid Ar-Rahman Mosque.  A family of peregrine falcons lives in a nesting box outside the sexton’s apartment.  A sign on the synagogue lawn reads, “Welcome, friends, to The Tree”. 
 

Photos of synagogue sexton Rebecca Martin, taken during the annual falcon banding, have appeared in the local newspaper.  Her services are provided by Piedmont Maids, whose uniform she and her team wear.  A company Toyota Camry Hybrid sits in the parking lot beside a Toyota Tundra rigged for towing. 

 

There have also been photos of, and news articles about Rabbi Solomon M. Kaplan, Cantor Harry P. Silver, Executive Director David Daniels, and his wife, Educational Director Leah Daniels.

 

At the rear of the raised platform in front of the synagogue is the Holy Ark, where the Torah scrolls are kept.  Above and in front of it is the Eternal Light.  On either side of the Ark are chairs.  The one just to the congregation’s left of the ark is the rabbi’s.  Further down is the president’s chair.  The cantor’s chair is closest to the ark on the congregation’s right.  At the front of the platform are two lecterns and two wooden stands for holding Torah scrolls.  The organ and four-member choir (two men and two women) are on the congregation’s right of the cantor. 

 

Near the end of the Friday evening service, the rabbi made several announcements.  One was about the kiddush after services in the Social Hall.  During it, the cantor announced the start of the zemirot, or meal songs. 

The next morning, while the Torah was being readied for reading, Rabbi Kaplan talked a bit about the art of Torah reading.  Included in that was the statement, “You will find that Mr. Daniels reads clearly and distinctly."

The synagogue has many classes that are open to the public.  All classrooms have dry-erase white boards and electrically operated movie screens.

[Mark Rand]

A lot of the following is from Lucy Pinchard.

 

In August 2012 Carolina Solar Energy completed construction of a 3.0 MWdc solar farm on 24 acres of land adjacent to the Person County Airport in Timberlake, NC.

 

State Senator Mark Pinchard has occasionally been interviewed at Person County Airport.  When he has been, he’s been near his Cessna Skyhawk (registration number N5418T). 

Lucy is currently soloing in a Diamond HK36 Super Dimona motor glider.  When asked the difference between a motor glider and a regular one, she explained that motor gliders have small engines in them so that they can get themselves airborne.  Once they are, the pilot shuts the engine off and glides.

 

Skyhawks, Inc. is the only Fixed Base Operation at the airport.  Its owner, Caroline Wilson, is also the airport manager.  Her fleet of aircraft consists of a Beechcraft King Air 90, a light twin; a Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter; 3 Cessna 172S Skyhawks; 2 Cessna 206 Stationairs; a Cessna 208 Caravan; a Cessna 525 CitationJet/M2 light business jet; a de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth biplane; and several Diamond HK36 Super Dimona motor gliders.  Her fleet of ground vehicles, some of which are owned by the county, are from John Deere and Ford.

 

The Skyhawks staff wears sage-green Nomex flight suits with the company insignia on the left breast.  When flying, Lucy wears a navy-blue flight suit with the Skyhawks insignia in the same place.

[Mark Rand]

Ravenswood Academy has two theatres.  One, the James Harmon Theatre, is a proscenium theatre with seating for 500 plus 10 wheelchair spaces.  The other, the 400-seat Randolph House Theatre, is a lecture hall with a closet on the speaker’s right of the lectern holding an amplifier and video equipment.

 

Those arriving early for some events at the Harmon Theatre will hear The Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner’s Ring Cycle played over the sound system to test it.

 

Traditionally, stage crew members wear black clothing while working.

 

Theatre people

 

Ms. Alicia Addams – mentioned in the 5E book Teen Champions

 

Miss Sabrina Carter – Harmon Theatre custodian, has dark-brown hair in a pony tail

 

Mrs. Jo Ann Forbes – Ravenswood English teacher and theatre wardrobe mistress

 

Miss Carol Marcus – Ravenswood’s young and attractive activities director, former high school and college cheerleader, Ravenswood cheerleader coach, and, by the Headmistress’ arrangement, a member of the squad

 

Miss Mary Anders – Harmon Theatre technical director, an African-American woman with black hair that falls just below her shoulders

 

Mrs. Ann Forest – Ravenswood English teacher and theatre stage crew faculty advisor / sponsor

 

Sandy Forest – Ravenswood student, Ann’s daughter, stage crew member and occasional wardrobe assistant, considered an excellent seamstress by Mrs. Forbes
 

Krystal and Christina Warren – Ravenswood students, fraternal twins, actresses

 

Karen Clark – Tim’s sister, actress in community theatre

 

Barbara Wells – one of Karen’s friends, actress in community theatre

 

Hollingsworth “Moose” Mason – Ravenswood student, star football player and bully, often sentenced to help Theatre Department wash costumes

[Mark Rand]

Motor sports are popular in North Carolina.   While most people are interested stock car and drag racing, those interested in road racing flock to Virginia International Raceway.

 

VIR’s pace car is a Nissan 370Z.  The North Carolina Region of the Sports Car Club of America uses a privately-owned Ford Mustang GT as its pace car.

Ravenswood students, and some faculty and staff members attend amateur races to watch the events and cheer on Carol Marcus who drives an open-cockpit car in events sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America and, some say, looks good in her racing suit. 

Local fraternal twin heiresses Trudy and Judy Bascom have a replica of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang that they drive in parades and use as a track emergency vehicle.  Judy has stated that the car’s a custom body on a right-hand drive Ford F-150 chassis with a 2.7L V6 EcoBoost engine. 

 

There is some talk of a vintage car race for charity in Medicine City, but the Honorable Elijah Small, the head of the race committee, is an arrogant, pompous, and short-fused judge and golfer who regularly demonstrates his inability to manage his anger by throwing his golf clubs around and berating anyone that rubs him the wrong way, which happens to be most people.  He also wants his snotty royal pain in the 'arse' grandson, Spaulding, who Lucy once saw puke into a car after drinking a glass of liquor, drive the pace car, but race officials have refused to permit it.

[PhantomGM2602]

The Court has traveled through many alternate dimensions including:

GRIMALDA : a earthlike world where fairy tales are real, beautifully fantastic--- and sometimes very deadly!

It's where the court defeated a cadre of evil queens and witches and became queens producing heirs to the thrones of that dimension.

 

Piffle World; an anime style race world similar to that of the animes  SPEED RACER, IGPX, and G GUNDAM, where people not only race in transforming mecha but battle for points as well. A cross between G Gundam and Hanna Barbera's WACKY RACES.

 

Glamouria: A earth in which a beauty pageant is held each year in which a young girl and a child is chosen to be beauty queen and princess for a lifetime to rule the government. Allegra and Athena were abducted from their earth by their Glamorian counterparts so that they would take their places in the pageant, fortunately they won and lived their lives until their dopple-gangers were forced to return by the rest of the and had their memories[and personalities] altered  so that they may rule and improve things  on that world.

 

Beautyon : world of anime magic girls where young women compete to become the successors of the various teams who will go to the various earths in other dimensions. The Queen of that world kidnaps Allegra and Lucy from earth to mold them both into magic queens to rule that world so that she can retire.

Nearly succeeded for almost 6 years until their daughters recovered the godgems and restored their memories.

 

HYPERWORLD: an Earth where almost everyone is a costumed superhero

 

TERACAKA: Home dimension and powersource of Lady Heart's amulet,presently conquered by Queen Nightmaria and where legendary creatures as well as humans are opposed by her and her nightmarians.

 

PRECURE Earth [GLITTER EARTH] Alternate earth and home to the legendary Precure [Pretty Cure]Warriors from the magic girl anime.

They are all active including the latest Precure teams [go to Fanfiction.net for the Pretty Cure Fan-fiction including mine]

 

MAGITOPIA [MAGIC WORLD] : a dimension full of magic where young girls can train to be Witches,Mystics and Magic Girls in the Magitopian Academy.

[steriaca]

You forgot the home dimention of Lady Heart's power, Teracaka. Teracka is a fantasy dimention where races like humans, orks, elves, unicorns, and tons of other creachers live in piece. Or, rather it was such a place till Queen Nightmara showed up and corupted it. Now the people are opressed, in a state of forced war and tragity to fule Queen Nightmara's power.

 

There are many rebellion groups in Teracaka, but the constant fighting against the queen aculaly serve Nightmara quite well. As long as the majority of the population of Teracaka live in fear, dread, and hatraid, the stronger she becomes.

[Mark Rand]

I decided to simplify stuff for my characters.  Tim's now Her Sunnyness, Solastar's an NPC, and Darlene's just Tim's girlfriend, which he thinks is pretty cool.

[PhantomGM2602]

You forgot the home dimention of Lady Heart's power, Teracaka. Teracka is a fantasy dimention where races like humans, orks, elves, unicorns, and tons of other creachers live in piece. Or, rather it was such a place till Queen Nightmara showed up and corupted it. Now the people are opressed, in a state of forced war and tragity to fule Queen Nightmara's power.

 

There are many rebellion groups in Teracaka, but the constant fighting against the queen aculaly serve Nightmara quite well. As long as the majority of the population of Teracaka live in fear, dread, and hatraid, the stronger she becomes.

Thanx for the 411 Stan m'man but I was going to add that in with a little bit of editing to the post above.

[PhantomGM2602]

I decided to simplify stuff for my characters.  Tim's now Her Sunnyness, Solastar's an NPC, and Darlene's just Tim's girlfriend, which he thinks is pretty cool.

Why Change them? I'd like them the way they were.

[Mark Rand]

Why Change them? I'd like them the way they were.

I don't think Darlene has the time to be both a superhero and a Mouseketeer.  Of course, Tim could be the knight to a girl who's not a Mouseketeer.  Let me think about that for a while.  

[Mark Rand]

B/G (a diner chain), George Aikens (a cafeteria-style restaurant chain), and Palmer’s (a sit-down restaurant chain offering fast service) are franchised throughout the Mid-Atlantic States and the Carolinas.  There are many throughout The Triangle.

 

In 2010, fitness model Elaine Ann Powers and her husband bought the rights to Elaine Powers Figure Salons, Inc. from chiropractor Richard Proctor, who founded the original company.  All of the new salons are coed and they have a number of salons in the Triangle.

 

Having relatives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lucy has some knowledge about the city.

 

The following is from Wikipedia: Western Pennsylvania English, known more narrowly as Pittsburgh English or popularly by outsiders as Pittsburghese, is a dialect of American English native primarily to the western half of Pennsylvania, centered on the city of Pittsburgh, but potentially appearing as far north as Erie County, as far east as metropolitan State College, as far west as metropolitan Youngstown (Ohio), and as far south as micropolitan Clarksburg (West Virginia). Speakers with the strongest accent of this dialect, associated with the white working class of Pittsburgh, have been historically called Yinzers.  Scots-Irish, Pennsylvania German, and Slavic-speaking (especially Polish) immigrants to the area all provided certain loanwords to the dialect.

 

NCAA now permits athletes to compete beyond their undergraduate years.  However, those that do are no longer eligible for scholarships.  This also removes the limit on how much they can earn per term.

 

Seven of the city’s many bridges are drawbridges.  They are the Smithfield Street Bridge and the Pennsylvania Panhandle LRT Bridge, which cross the Monongahela River and the Roberto Clemente Sixth Street Bridge, the Andy Warhol Seventh Street Bridge, the Rachel Carson Ninth Street Bridge the Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge, and the David McCullough Sixteenth Street Bridge which cross the Allegheny River.  Most have their own control booths, but the Clemente, Warhol, and Carson, which are known as “The Three Sisters”, are controlled from an apartment in the Encore on Seventh, a high-rise apartment building.

 

In 2015, an area media magnate bought the rights to American Gladiators, which is now taped at Pitt’s John M. and Gertrude E. Petersen Events Center.  The newest gladiators bare names from the show’s 2008 incarnation.  The original eight were Crush, Jet, Phoenix (who is deaf), Stealth, Titan (the gladiator captain), Toa, Wolf, and Zen.  For the second season, they were joined by the first season champions.  The first season men’s champion was Eric Knight, a sports model and martial artist, whose gladiator name is Rocket.  The first season women’s champion was Yasko Tanaka, a Pitt graduate student, and Pitt and Olympic gymnast, whose gladiator name is Panther, her long-time nickname and the university’s mascot.

 

Although I’d prefer to have Tim be Her Sunnyness, my nickname for Sunspell, it looks like Judith “Judy” Kaplan’s going to fill that role.  Her father is the rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, which Tim attends.

[PhantomGM2602]

B/G (a diner chain), George Aikens (a cafeteria-style restaurant chain), and Palmer’s (a sit-down restaurant chain offering fast service) are franchised throughout the Mid-Atlantic States and the Carolinas.  There are many throughout The Triangle.

 

In 2010, fitness model Elaine Ann Powers and her husband bought the rights to Elaine Powers Figure Salons, Inc. from chiropractor Richard Proctor, who founded the original company.  All of the new salons are coed and they have a number of salons in the Triangle.

 

Having relatives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lucy has some knowledge about the city.

 

The following is from Wikipedia: Western Pennsylvania English, known more narrowly as Pittsburgh English or popularly by outsiders as Pittsburghese, is a dialect of American English native primarily to the western half of Pennsylvania, centered on the city of Pittsburgh, but potentially appearing as far north as Erie County, as far east as metropolitan State College, as far west as metropolitan Youngstown (Ohio), and as far south as micropolitan Clarksburg (West Virginia). Speakers with the strongest accent of this dialect, associated with the white working class of Pittsburgh, have been historically called Yinzers.  Scots-Irish, Pennsylvania German, and Slavic-speaking (especially Polish) immigrants to the area all provided certain loanwords to the dialect.

 

NCAA now permits athletes to compete beyond their undergraduate years.  However, those that do are no longer eligible for scholarships.  This also removes the limit on how much they can earn per term.

 

Seven of the city’s many bridges are drawbridges.  They are the Smithfield Street Bridge and the Pennsylvania Panhandle LRT Bridge, which cross the Monongahela River and the Roberto Clemente Sixth Street Bridge, the Andy Warhol Seventh Street Bridge, the Rachel Carson Ninth Street Bridge the Fort Wayne Railroad Bridge, and the David McCullough Sixteenth Street Bridge which cross the Allegheny River.  Most have their own control booths, but the Clemente, Warhol, and Carson, which are known as “The Three Sisters”, are controlled from an apartment in the Encore on Seventh, a high-rise apartment building.

 

In 2015, an area media magnate bought the rights to American Gladiators, which is now taped at Pitt’s John M. and Gertrude E. Petersen Events Center.  The newest gladiators bare names from the show’s 2008 incarnation.  The original eight were Crush, Jet, Phoenix (who is deaf), Stealth, Titan (the gladiator captain), Toa, Wolf, and Zen.  For the second season, they were joined by the first season champions.  The first season men’s champion was Eric Knight, a sports model and martial artist, whose gladiator name is Rocket.  The first season women’s champion was Yasko Tanaka, a Pitt graduate student, and Pitt and Olympic gymnast, whose gladiator name is Panther, her long-time nickname and the university’s mascot.

 

Although I’d prefer to have Tim be Her Sunnyness, my nickname for Sunspell, it looks like Judith “Judy” Kaplan’s going to fill that role.  Her father is the rabbi of the Tree of Life Congregation, which Tim attends.

Looks like I'll have to revise the roster to have Tim become Solaristar, Pallidin of the Sun. 

How about creating a Coven of Nightmares Version of her Sunnyness along with a version of Solaristar as well?

[Mark Rand]

I'd rather have Tim be Her Sunnyness with Judy Kaplan as Solastar.  I have a few ideas about their nightmare versions, but nothing's solid, yet..

[PhantomGM2602]

I'd rather have Tim be Her Sunnyness with Judy Kaplan as Solastar.  I have a few ideas about their nightmare versions, but nothing's solid, yet..

Would you mind  if I send you a CS I've started on Solastar and SunSpell both? then you can create their counterparts with the fillable sheets i'll send you via email.

[Mark Rand]

Would you mind  if I send you a CS I've started on Solastar and SunSpell both? then you can create their counterparts with the fillable sheets i'll send you via email.

Thanks.  I'll look for them.

[Mark Rand]

Tim’s now Her Sunnyness.  Judy Kaplan will be Solastar.

 

To help him plan stage makeups, Tim has a cast resin skull, that has been dubbed Yorick, on a Masonite board in his bedroom.  Said skull has been used in a couple of productions of Hamlet.

 

In many amateur stage productions of Peter Pan, a 'Jane (or Jenny) Wren' is listed among the cast on the programs as playing Tinkerbell; this was a joke in the original stage productions which also helped with the mystique of the fairy character that producers like to keep in.

 

Due to the political situation in North Carolina, the new version of The Mickey Mouse Club that was going to be shot near Medicine City is now being shot at Pittsburgh’s 31^st Street Studios.   Karen’s hospital segments are shot at The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.  She and her mother, Cora, visit kids often enough that the hospital awarded them Volunteer IDs. 

 

Cheryl is the Mouseketeer who knows Jewish folk music, song, and dance.  Her father is Rabbi Morris Hailperin of the newly-formed B’nai Israel Congregation.  Her mother, Zipporah Hailperin, who is sometimes referred to as the Rebbetzin, a Yiddish is the title used for a rabbi’s wife, typically from the Orthodox, or Haredi, and Hasidic Jewish groups, was born and raised in Israel and is a music teacher and the contralto in the synagogue choir.

[Tech]

I used the Sailor Senshi/Scouts as NPC's while I GM'd. I probably did 50+ adventures with them, with one particular superhero team. It worked well, surprisingly as I didn't know the reaction I'd get from the players. I had eventually stopped using them, but after a few years having gone by, now there is a subtle plot with another new superteam that's started in the campaign that will bring out more episodes eventually.

 

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn is a distant cousin of one of the heroes, and she's about 18 now. Little do the heroes know this gentle cousin is a powerhouse.

[steriaca]

I used the Sailor Senshi/Scouts as NPC's while I GM'd. I probably did 50+ adventures with them, with one particular superhero team. It worked well, surprisingly as I didn't know the reaction I'd get from the players. I had eventually stopped using them, but after a few years having gone by, now there is a subtle plot with another new superteam that's started in the campaign that will bring out more episodes eventually.

 

Hotaru/Sailor Saturn is a distant cousin of one of the heroes, and she's about 18 now. Little do the heroes know this gentle cousin is a powerhouse.

How well did you handle 'six ranger' Tuxedo Mask?

[Tech]

How well did you handle 'six ranger' Tuxedo Mask?

 

A player created a slight variation on him (without the hat) as a PC that worked well. I didn't have to create him, which was fine with me.

 

Sailor Saturn has made one shadowy appearance to help the new team: it was overcast during a superfight, with it looking like it was about to rain. Nothing special, the days' forecast was for rain. The team was fighting a really tough villain when a female appears with a glaive and one-punches the villain. The didn't get a good look at her due to the poor lighting and she left quickly, leaving the heroes to wonder who it was.

[steriaca]

Not many female glaive wielders out there. Not many glaive users out there. Then again, we are talking "superhero universe". Where a character could wield a unique weapon, and still be hidden (cause if one person can use such a weapon, others can also).

[steriaca]

Oh, and roses, martial arts with an extendable cane, or "Tuxedo La Smoking Bomber"?

[Mark Rand]

Much of the synagogue information is from the Rauh Jewish Archives of the Heinz History Center.

 

There were three Pittsburgh area synagogues named B’nai Israel (Sons or Children of Israel).

 

The first is Beth Hamedrash Hagodol which was chartered as B’nai Israel in 1873.  Known as “Washington Street Shul” in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, it was founded by Lithuanian Orthodox immigrant Jews. It merged with Beth Jacob in 1964 and became Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob.

 

The second is Temple B’nai Israel of the borough of White Oak, Pennsylvania, which was, for 75-years, located in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

 

The third B’nai Israel was chartered in 1911 on Negley Avenue.  In 1995, the congregation merged with Beth Jacob of New Kensington to form Adat Shalom in Fox Chapel.  The building was sold to the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh who used it as a charter school.  Recently, they put it up for sale.  The prospective owner, a real estate developer, is thought to have plans to tear it down.   In the game, it has been torn down and a fourth B’nai Israel stands there.

 

The Negley Avenue B’nai Israel is near Margaretta Street, much of which is now East Liberty Boulevard.  It was the home to Adath Jeshurun, which was chartered in 1918 and was known as the “Margaretta Street Shul”.  It merged with Cneseth Israel congregation in 1978, moved to Monroeville, Pennsylvania in 1996, and closed in 2002.  The old building is now a church whose sign reads “Inner City Ministries / Tabernacle of Faith”.

 

On to the four area race tracks.

 

The River City International Raceway is a 2.8-mile, 19-turn track in Wampum, Pa.  The facility has a .85-mile karting track outside the road course, an event building, and a drag strip that overlays the road course's front straight.

 

River City’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway is a ½-mile dirt track near Imperial, Pennsylvania.

 

The River City Vintage Grand Prix races through Schenley Park are considered by many drivers to be the most challenging race course worldwide. The 2.33-mile circuit has 23 turns, haybales, manhole covers, phone poles and stone walls.

 

Lastly, The Meadows is a 5/8-mile, limestone-surfaced harness racing track in Meadowlands, Pennsylvania, in Washington County.  It has a casino, bowling alley, and hotel.  Roger Huston calls the races there.

[Mark Rand]

Tim Clark (Sunspell) and Judy Kaplan (Solastar) live just south of North Carolina Central University, on Fayetteville Street, near Elmira Avenue.  They’ve attended both Fayetteville Elementary School & Shepard Middle School.  Their area has many Jewish and Muslim families.  You can hear Arabic, Hebrew, and Yiddish, as well as English spoken in the neighborhood.

 

Tim’s father, David, is a licensed general contractor with his own company.  Donna, his mother, is an osteopathic physician who works at the neighborhood Piedmont Urgent Care Center.  Karin, his older sister, who has her own apartment, is a model and actress. Jessica, his paternal grandmother, is a retired makeup artist.

 

Solomon, Judy’s father, is the rabbi of Tree of Life Congregation.  Sarah, her mother, is a nurse practitioner who works at the neighborhood Piedmont Urgent Care Center.

 

Jessica drives Tim and Judy to and from Ravenswood in her Toyota Prius.

[Mark Rand]

A bit on Pittsburgh: The city has been renamed River City, one of its nicknames.   The University of Pittsburgh is now Pitt University and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is now the Pitt Medical Center.  

 

Now, for the local superhero team: It's a group of five Sailor Senshi.  The members are Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, Sailor Moon (the team leader), Sailor Mars, and Sailor Jupiter.  Of the group, Sailor Mars is a Shinto shrine maiden in her civilian identity and Sailor Mercury has a male civilian identity.  The other three are regular teenage girls.

 

Their character sheets were copied from Mike Surbrook's site and slightly modified to fit the campaign location.

[dmjalund]

Trouble right here in River City!