Mark Rand

A NEW BEGINNING
 
 
3 congregations say ‘farewell for now’ to synagogue ahead of construction
 
 
By Jeremy Reynolds
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Squirrel Hill facility.
On a chilly Sunday, nearly 100 members of the Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life congregations and others gathered at the corner of Shady and Wilkins avenues to bid a ceremonial l’hitraot, or “farewell for now,” to a building filled with memories, now the site of the most deadly antisemitic attack in the United States.
 
 
“We do not say ‘shalom’ because there is a finality to that word,” said Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers. “Instead, we say ‘see you later,’ knowing that we will return.”
 
 
A couple of hours before the ceremony, police blocked streets to traffic for at least a block in each direction from the synagogue, where a gunman entered and killed 11 people from three different congregations on Oct. 27, 2018. Uniformed members of the city police and Public Safety Department were present in force.  It was an emotionally charged event, but not ominous.
 
 
Synagogue members shook hands, embraced, laughed and reminisced before and after the ceremony.
 
 
While fundraising continues for the building, it is not actually time to break ground.  Sunday was about “moving to a new chapter” as the congregation continues to remember and heal, said Rabbi Myers.
 
 
Looming over all, however, was the fact that the trial for the accused shooter would begin the next day.
 
 
The timing of the ceremony was not coincidental.
 
 
“This was a moment to celebrate what’s come before,” said Rabbi Myers, who reminded attendees of all of the positive memories of bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and birthdays and other celebrations.  He also led those gathered in readings from the Torah and in song.
 
 
Only a few people joined in at first, but the music swelled in volume and warmth by the second chorus:  “It is a Tree of Life to them that hold fast to it, and all of its supporters are happy.  Shalom.”
 
 
Kids in coats hopped to keep warm while adults listened on with solemnity.
 
 
The ceremony lasted about 20 minutes.
 
 
The Tree of Life congregation was chartered in 1865 and has moved locations a couple of times in Downtown and Oakland before settling in Squirrel Hill in the 1940s.
 
 
Currently, Tree of Life congregation members have moved to the nearby Rodef Shalom, but they will return once construction is finished.
Dor Hadash also moved to Rodef Shalom, while New Light is currently in a space in Congregation Beth Shalom in Squirrel Hill.
 
 
To begin anew, the old Tree of Life building will be demolished and a new center will be built that has space for a memorial, a museum, a film screening room and more. It will continue to be a place of worship, and it will also become the new home for the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh. 
 
 
Congregants brought small stones or offerings to Sunday’s ceremony to place on the retaining wall. These will be utilized in a manner to be determined in the new structure.
 
 
“We are moving to another chapter,” said Alan Hausman, president of the synagogue’s board. “Today is just ‘see you later.’ ”
 
 
There is no update on when ground will be broken or the new facility will be completed, but it is expected to take several years.
 
 
“Antisemitism transcends politics,” Rabbi Myers said. “It transcends the U.S. It’s been around for thousands of years. ... We’re saying to the rest of the world evil is not driving us from this building.”

I keep coming back to this sort of thing. A companion animal is a really good thing to complete a PC for this style of campaign. The super smart, fast, tough horse is obvious, Hi-Ho Silver and all that. The mountain lion, wolf, or coyote are also pretty easy to imagine choices. A hawk or eagle could also be an option for a PC and still keep an old west feel. I mean there is nothing keeping someone from a character with a more exotic animal like an orangutan or tiger, but it could come with a series of problems. "You can't bring that thing in the saloon."

Michelle Anne Adams, M.D., is the town physician.  She’s a normal-looking dark-haired woman who accidentally touched an odd globe in her father’s medical office.  It downloaded quite a bit of medical information into her brain.  She has even studied with the local tribe’s medicine man, has been on vision quests, and has her own medicine bundle.  Through the medicine man, she has become bonded with Tabitha, a female mountain lion.  For transportation, she uses a horse-drawn trap, but can ride her horse, too.

True.  The PDF I have on the computer I'm on has Revised as part of the file name.

Absolutely. The hidden city of Shamballah, and its evil twin Agharti, are probably the closest analogues. There are also several isolated temples mentioned in various Champs books that teach very advanced martial arts techniques, and one extra-dimensional realm inhabited by spirit beings who can imbue humans with extraordinary ch'i powers, nearly Dragon Ball level.

Look at the third chapter of the 5E book Hidden Lands Revised.

Look at the third chapter of the 5E book Hidden Lands Revised.

I like this.  The show could be something like the Sword of Justice, which featured the late Dack Rambo.

Lady Lace: A series of Pittsburgh located superheroiens.
 
Lady Lace 1: Operating from just before WW2 to about 1953. She basically has a web gun, and her wits.
 
Lady Lace 2: Operates from 1964 to 1983. Started with the web gun, but modified it over the years, maki g it smaller and more versatile. 
 
Lady Lace 3: Ooerated from 1987 till 1993. Was a martial artist who wore not a lot of clothes but had pockets in what she had. Carried a few noted weapons (like spider shaped shuriken).
 
Lady Lace 4: The current one. Found the plans of LL2's gun and a stash of LL3's weapons and tries to mix it up a bit. Is not a grim avenger type LL3 was. (Hey, it was all the trend in the 90's).

Humm...Kat Burgler comes to mind. A short lived adventure show about Katherine Burgler, a thief with a heart of gold and love of justice (but not exactly law). She also likes cats. She doesn't exactly have a secret identity, but the world doesn't exactly know she exists more than being a generic female thief (at least in the show).

Celebrity, Local
Dick Richardson , you don't have to go into comedy with a name like that, but it sure helps to have a sense of humor. Dick Richardson did both, having a surprisingly clean act given the endless word play at his own expense to play with. In his heyday, he was called the Cyrano of Comedy, due to a truly impressive proboscis. Jokes about his nose getting on the stage five minutes before he did were part of the act. For about ten years, he surged to the A list on the national comedy scene, but his career tapered off after that.
 
In his native city, however, he's still a hit! Nowadays he puts on shows (and manages) his own comedy club Twice Unmentionable (A play on his name). For a comedy club, it does brisk business, and to encourage young talent, Dick even has an amateur night with the price at the door halved for that night so they'll have a good chance of getting an audience. While he feels its up to the newblood to keep the audience in the palm of his or her hand, he's been known to take a shine to more than one and give a tip or two. Because of this, there is now more than one rising comedy star that remembers him fondly.
 
The middle aged comedian also gets invited to radio and TV shows to give his own quirky insights on current events, politics, and the like. He's worked for fund raisers, and despite his teasing of some of the craziness in the city; he loves it dearly.
 
 
 
 
QUOTE:   "This city is my home... and by that I mean if I end up passed out on the communal doorstep, it has to take me in."

Skipping "Boyfriend/Girlfriend" as that would require specific PCs
 
The Burglar/Thief 
Melody Clifford used to turn heads, and is still a damn fine looking woman at her age who stays fit. Back in the day, she was none other than the notorious cat burglar Lace. As Lace, she flirted with masked heroes on the roof tops and danced with danger as she took her latest prize home. Then? Well, to paraphrase a movie, she got her foot caught in the door. One costumed gent in particular didn't just ignite her passions, she found herself in love with the nuisance.   At first she fought it, but eventually, she gave in, and gave up her old life. For a year or two, she adopted the name Shadow Vixen and even worked with her new love... and it was fun. But then, well, the jerk knocked her up (He pointed out, in that annoying way of his, that it did take two to tango) and that was that for a few years.
 
And darn it, if she wasn't deliriously happy! Melody discovered she loved her kids (That's right, she had more than one) and even grew to like some aspects of being a housewife (Not that she would ever admit it). Time slipped away from her, and suddenly she wasn't as good as she used to be. 
 
Neither, sadly, was her husband, but that didn't stop him from heroing. "Soon" he would say "I'll quit soon", but then he stumbled onto a plot by a villain, and then soon would never come. Melody had to come in and identify her husband's body.  She saved her tears for when she was alone. That was five years ago. Now, she seems to have recovered from her grief, and while on the straight and narrow, she exudes a certain playful confidence still. She's come to this city to make new memories and be closer to one of her children who lives her now as an adult.
 
Or so she claims
 
 
 
 
QUOTE: "A t-tech 3001 security system takes a full three seconds to kick in the back up generator, plenty of time if you know what you're doing"

Squirrel Girl's character sheet is on Mike Surbrook's site.

Squirrel Girl's character sheet is on Mike Surbrook's site.

Social Media seems to be everywhere.  What would your character do if it all just disappeared, sites and contents?

The Champions product I first think of here is Aaron Allston's Strike Force. The extended family called "the Blood" are exactly this: Super-powers run in the family. Some members are heroes, some are villains, some just living their lives. (They also appeared in the very early supplement The Blood and Dr. McQuark, IIRC.) Not part of the CU, but it would be easy to splice them in.
 
Strike Force is worth reading in any case. IMO it's the best Champions supplement ever written, and darn useful for any game as an example of what a successful campaign looks like.
 
Dean Shomshak

Maximum:  "well this sucks!  How are people going to see this incredible jawline now?!"
 
Panther will find her "other" job much more difficult: when you're looking for confidential information, people will just _give it to you_ once they start blogging.
 
Jack Brass is going to have a much more difficult time with his social reform efforts.
 
Martin Power: "oh, thank _God_!"
 
 

Or take a page from "Sky High" Warren Peace Hero Mother, Villain Father!
 
Imagine the role playing:
"Hey mom I fought with dad last week!" 
"Oh dear!  Who was he working for this time?" 
"Dr. Demonicus!  Don't worry we won, but he got away!" 
"Thank you!  I'll have to talk to him again I see!" 
"Please mom, don't!  You either end up hooking up for the weekend, or arguing and almost getting into a fight!  What do you see in him?" 
"He has the bluest eyes, (Sigh)!"
"EWwwwww!  MOM!"
 
 

Why the child of heroes?
 
It might prove amusing to have your parents rooting for you, giving advice, cheering you on, collecting news clippings of your exploits and hoping and praying that you never find out that they are retired and still-wanted supervillains.
 
I mean honestly, if I were the GM, I could have so much fun with this....
 
 

If I might suggest for research on one possible way to present Queen Nocturna, you may want to catch an old Star Trek voyager episode called "Bride of Chaotica" where Mulgrew as Janeway must play "Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People" in a holo deck adventure. The actress is clearly having a ball being over the top side by side with the guest star. I am not a big voyager fan, and it's more pulp parody than magical girl adventure but it seems to me that 'everyone having strong feelings!' is often a commonality and Arachnia ala Janeway might be worth stealing bits and pieces from for your villainess to torment your player with

I thought SSI (Scuba Schools International) certified most mermaid training courses.  The beginning one is "Try Mermaid".  "Ocean Mermaid" is the advanced one.  Nancy has her Ocean Mermaid certification.  She also serves as student assistant to Coach Mary Ann Kramer, a physical education teacher and the swimming coach who teaches both regular and SSI-certified mermaid-style swimming classes in the Allderdice pool on weekends.

It's The Hidden Valley of Upgawala. The people of the Hidden Valley are the Upgawala, intelligence cromagem people. They farm and herd. And if you bother there way of life, they'll swarm and use their incredible strength to repel the invaders. Note: they are intelligent, but only compared to classic cromagem people. 
 
Of course, places like this have dinosaurs and other primitive animals. 

Not a bad idea. However, in a game we have THREE types of heroes:
Player characters Support heros (that give color to the town, that can fill in gaps in skills/powersets, etc) Template characters that the players can each run (if they don't want to write their own characters). Each of these has a different purpose. That being said, having an already existing hero group would be a great place to start. If we carefully explain that you can use them or play them or replace them...well, this should all work. And THAT being said, my suggestions for purely and unashameadly Pittsburgh characters is...
 
A power suiter, something unlinke the newer Ironman in that he/she would be much less configurable (no power pools). This character is often complicated to use so needs to be made simple. It should have big rivets, maybe even the US Steel logo (if we can use it...it is also the same logo the Steelers use so...) and should be more brick like with 6 or so charges of a variety of different missle/cannon like weapons (a mulitpower?) A martial artist/fighter that is more along the lines of Captain America. She could have a shield (that would look like the Pittsburgh city logo so wouldn't be throwable), and a hammer...get this....THE HEAD IS MADE OUT OF A PIECE OF STEEL I-BEAM! That should be able to be thrown...but then would have to be retreived. Not sure how to do that in Champions terms....maybe stretching as a linked power but using lockout to ensure they have to pick it up first. She would also have a utility belt that would have throwable attacks and flash bangs and other things (a big multipower with lots of limitations) A water elemental. Understand that the river is only really seen as an impediment to travel, an annoyance when the parking garages flood, and...well, mostly ignored by most residents. HOWEVER, they are there and in everyone's mind. So, we need a hero that can manipulate that water. The Cougar (or Panther or Mountain Lion or Catamount or whatever name you like for that 40 lb wild cat). They are indiginous to the area. This would be a cat-like super with fast reflexes and amazing fighting/acrobatics skills A few mutant siblings/twins/orphans...or... Pittsburgh, in recent years, has become a Mecca of sorts for tech (computers and robotics...kids taking parent's life work?) and medical research (genetics, surgery...experimentation?). These can be almost anything Should they have a theme to their powers (light, temperature, etc)? Maybe you have Thunder and Lightning or Fire and Ice or Dusk and Twilight. This is where you would get your hero that can move the entire group long distances for a battle. They could pilot the plane (in case no player has the skills) or just teleport the entier room somewhere or...whell, you get the idea.

I think one of its major heroes should be a powered armor sort or have Steel in their name somehow.

Being 72, I'm definitely an old timer.  I think I started with second edition.