TABULA RASA to YOAKHAM

TABULA RASA to YOAKHAM

Tabula Rasa:

This faceless two-fisted vigilante first appeared on Shanghai Hill in February 2002. Initially believed to be a solo operator, he is now a major component of THE FOUNDRY.

Tau Cetians (Grays):

VELOCITY of THE FOUNDRY somehow knows about these beings, of whom the US Government denies all knowledge. Velocity says they’re harmless, except for their adolescents. Apparently the adolescents go joyriding and burn crop circles into fields to impress other joyriding adolescents.

T. B. Kahuna’s (1155 Syracuse Avenue E. & 1865 Giffen Street):

An odd mix of college students, baseball fans and transplanted-Hawaiian cops frequent this gourmet burgers-and-booze joint.

Team Hyperion, 1970-2002:

THE FOUNDRY is, in some ways, a legacy of Team Hyperion. One member is the niece and daughter of most of the original line-up. The Foundry’s mentor is one of the last survivors of the original team, and that team’s ideals are at The Foundry’s core. Plus, The Foundry completed the original Team Hyperion’s last mission.

ROMANYI, an original member of Team Hyperion, sealed her doom and those of her teammates when she decided to press an investigation into local police corruption. The evidence she compiled lay hidden for nearly a decade, but her investigation caused enough concern in some circles to prompt the 1993 team-airplane explosion that killed the entire original line-up. Only probationary member Brother Knight (I), later PALADIN NOIR, and late-1970s addition HALITOSIS survived—by virtue of not being aboard the plane at the time. As Paladin Noir, the young hero formed a new team with the aid of Halitosis and local solo hero The Somnambulist.

In early 2002, The Foundry revealed the motive—Romanyi’s investigation—and murder weapon in the 1993 explosion. The Somnambulist had mind-controlled THE FROZEN GHOST into sabotaging the plane, and he was actively controlling the second Team Hyperion—including Paladin Noir—with the help of IMP. Whether THE SOMNAMBULIST, who hailed from the future, was the mastermind or the subcontractor is still unclear. JEOPARDY of The Foundry snapped The Somnambulist’s hold on Paladin Noir and the mighty hero captured the mentalist and his co-conspirators.

With the ascendancy of The Foundry and the decimation of Team Hyperion due to criminal indictments and deaths, Hyperion tried to continue for eight months afterward. At the end of the Summer of 2002, the team disbanded. Brother Knight and Caballera went solo, Halitosis concentrated on his music career, Paladin Noir spent more time with INTERPOL JUSTICE FORCE ONE, Caballera retired, and Gemini joined COMETPRO.

The original and longest-lasting (1972-1993) lineup of Team Hyperion was as follows:

Massdriver—occasional team leader and believed to be team financier, he was secretly Quebecois-immigrant financier Daniel Devereaux. Massdriver was a known telekinetic and gravity manipulator. He was believed killed in the mysterious explosion of the team’s jet in 1993. Publicly known details of his and his wife’s deaths involve a fiery automobile accident, which was, in reality, staged by Joshua Caine to protect their secret identities—and their young daughter.
Stormlord—weather elemental, confirmed dead in 1993 airplane explosion.
The Frozen Ghost—occasional team leader, the PCs of this campaign know him as Joshua Caine. The Ghost was known to be able to condense into hyper-cold vapor almost at will. He was believed killed in the mysterious explosion of the team’s jet in 1993. Caine now uses the code name Nevermore, although he rarely takes an active role in vigilantism.
Brother Knight (I)—probationary member, this youngster was not aboard the plane. He took up the mantle of his fallen mentor and became Paladin Noir.
Paladin—flying brick, this defender of the American Way was not killed in the explosion. Instead, he took its full force and broke his neck hitting the ocean’s surface.
Eclipse and Corona—brother-and-sister team of energy projectors, they were confirmed dead in the airplane explosion. They were Joshua Caine’s younger siblings, and Corona was Daniel Devereaux’s wife.
Romanyi The Sorceress was a co-founder of the group in 1970, HALITOSIS had joined the team in 1977, and the first BROTHER KNIGHT joined in 1992.

Thane, Lorne (1953-):

Until late 2003, he was Executive Editor of The Ravensgate Oregon Journal and an Executive Vice President in the OREGON JOURNAL MEDIACORP. He is now the Publisher of the Journal, President of the OREGON JOURNAL MEDIACORP, and Executive Vice President in the THROCKMORTON GROUP.

The Thirteenth Floor (666 Broadway, Suite 1313):

Most hotels don’t have a 13^th floor. The upscale Raven Plaza Hotel, on the other hand, puts the city’s ritziest nightclub on its 13^th, 14^th and 15^th floors. And advertises it.

The Throckmorton Group (1016 Main Street):

This is the blanket company covering THROCKMORTON TECHNOLOGICAL INTERNATIONAL, THROCKMORTON STEEL, NEHALEM AMALGAMATED PLASTICS, DEVEREAUX D’AUBAINE WATKINS & LOCKSLEY and related corporations. It is into steel, real estate, construction, telecommunications, avionics, alternative energy, and defense contracting.

Throckmorton, Jericho (1890-1932):

Publicly known as the son of JOSIAS POE THROCKMORTON, this brilliant architect and engineer went mad while attempting to build a time machine. He supposedly spent the last five years of his life in a mental institution. In actuality, he might have fled to an alternate timeline, and his father, JOSIAS POE THROCKMORTON, assumed his identity to explain his own youthful appearance.

Throckmorton, Josias Poe (1828-2003):

See the GOVERNMENT and HISTORY sections, plus OUR STORY (Issues 21 to 23 and 46 to 50), for more information on the founder of Ravensgate. See also LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR. and JERICHO THROCKMORTON. Masquerading as his descendants, he founded and ran the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE as a way of perpetuating his lifespan and keeping at bay the undead army of Native American shaman SPEAKS LIKE MOUNTAINS. Masquerading as LEMUEL “POPPY LEM” THROCKMORTON JR., he led both the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE and THE THROCKMORTON GROUP until he was killed at FOREST CREST by Energon.

That he was masquerading as his supposed grandson, begs the question of who was buried in his grave in 1951.

Throckmorton, Josias Poe IV (1942-2003):

A former state senator, he is now CFO of Throckmorton Steel and son of LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR. (JOSIAS POE THROCKMORTON SR.). He is a lodge brother in the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE until the FOREST CREST raid. Now, he’s a ghost after hanging himself in December 2003 to avoid racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.

Throckmorton, Lemuel Jr. (allegedly 1913-2003):

See JOSIAS POE THROCKMORTON. Yes, he was allegedly nearly 90 years old. No, there was nothing to tie him to criminal activity in Ravensgate. This in itself was suspicious. Seriously, most of his business partners were or are tied in some way to the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE and the RAVENSGATE CRIME COMMISSION. Then there are the facts that all but one Mayor of Ravensgate is or was related to him and that he would buy and sell local elections with impunity. Ravensgate is that cozy of a town. He was the Exalted Grand Master of the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE.

Throckmorton, Millard IV (1938-2003):

A former Congressman from Oregon, he was CEO of Throckmorton Steel and is a grandnephew of LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR. He was Grand Vizier of the Exchequeur for the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE until the FOREST CREST raid. Now, he’s a ghost after hanging himself in December 2003 to avoid racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.

He’s also a known metahuman with mystically-related psionic powers.

Throckmorton, Millard V (1960-2003):

A former state legislator, he was Chief Information Officer of Throckmorton Steel and is a grandnephew of LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR. He was an Exalted Pillar of Wisdom in the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE until the FOREST CREST raid. Now, he’s a ghost after hanging himself in December 2003 to avoid racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.

Throckmorton, Nehemiah (1932-2000):

Son of LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR., Nehemiah was Mayor of Ravensgate from 1974 until his death. He picked his niece to be his chief of staff and presumptive successor. For more information, consult the GOVERNMENT section of this website.

Throckmorton, Nehemiah Jericho (“Junior,” 1967-):

Son of NEHEMIAH THROCKMORTON, he was a Senior Vice President of Throckmorton Steel. He was an Exalted Pillar of Wisdom in the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE until the FOREST CREST raid. Now, he’s a ghost after hanging himself in December 2003 to avoid racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.

Throckmorton, Nehemiah Jericho Josias (“Josie,” 1981-):

Son of MILLARD THROCKMORTON V, he was a Junior Vice President of Throckmorton Steel. He was an Exalted Pillar of Wisdom in the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE until the FOREST CREST raid. Now, he’s a guest of the Federal government on racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.

Throckmorton-d’Aubaine, Salome Ana Renee Isabela al-Amarja (1971-):

See the GOVERNMENT section of this website for more information on the current Mayor of Ravensgate.

There is more than meets the eye to this young retired supermodel. She is a conservative Democrat, is a magna cum laude graduate of Stanford University’s School of Public Administration, has been politically active since her teen-aged years in the mid-1980s, and surprised many by managing NEHEMIAH THROCKMORTON’s successful 1998 re-election campaign. It was quite an achievement for a young woman who had lived in Palo Alto, Paris and Prague since graduating from high school.

Upon inaugural to his final term, Nehemiah named the then-26-year-old Salome his chief of staff.

Upon Nehemiah’s death in 2000, the City Assembly elected her interim mayor until the 2002 election. Since then, she has quashed any potential challenges to her authority or her candidacy for mayor, finally winning the office in a lawsuit-challenged 2003 runoff election. She has proven quite adept at using her sex appeal to win votes in the Assembly and among the populace, and she has proven surprisingly tough as nails in addressing the POLICE STRIKE OF 2002 and the APRIL FOOL’S DAY RIOTS.

She and her father, Ravensgate Oregon Journal publisher JEAN-PIERRE D’AUBAINE, vehemently disagreed regarding police management and The Foundry. Now that he’s dead, and his corporate holdings are in a blind trust, she leans more on The Foundry—-and cousin DANIELLE DEVEREAUX—-for advice.

Throckmorton Steel:

Founded in 1939 as the Nehalem Bay Foundry, it took advantage of World War II to build itself into a corporate powerhouse. It has plants in 15 other North American cities.

Throckmorton Technological International (TTI):

Originally the Throckmorton Vacuum Tubing Company, founded in 1921, TTI now owns NTtel (Nehalem-Tillamook Telecom), Internet providers TTI.net and RavenNet, and Nehalem-Tillamook Alternative Energy. It sold off its liquid-hydrogen refineries to the City of Ravensgate at a considerable profit.

Torchia, Alphonse (Firebug Al):

Mr. Torchia gained his nickname during some particularly nasty labor disputes in the 1970s. He’s never done any jail time, but his reputation is such that most unions avoid him. So he started his own union, one which reflects his sense of humor—the Meatpackers And Fishpackers International Association. Cute.

The Usual Gang of Idiots:

Also known as the Ravensgate Science Fiction Society, this is the group that organizes the mid-May RavenCon, summer-solstice RavenFair, mid-July BastilleCon, and mid-August OtakuCon. Some of them hang out at J&B COMICS.

vanZiebbe, Janwillem (J.W.):

Like his assistant, MAXWELL BLANKE, Mr. vanZiebbe was a South African Boer with an American wife. He was the Executive Vice President for Corporate Security in the THROCKMORTON GROUP and was LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR.’s man in Johannesburg in the 1970s and 1980s. His very existence, and all it implied about Lemuel, bothered the LOCKSLEY and WATKINS brothers. He was an Exalted Guard in the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE until the FOREST CREST raid. Now, he’s a ghost after hanging himself in December 2003 to avoid racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.

Velocity:

Original member of THE FOUNDRY and THE DOE FAMILY, this superhero is a speedster capable of outrunning most Indy racecars.

Vigilante Regulation Law [RCO 97.653.01(5)]:

Ravensgate City Ordinance 97.653.01(5) was a revision of a law “BOTTLE BILL” d’AMBROSIO once used against the Ku Klux Klan and the first masked “mystery men” vigilantes. The 1997 law was intended to stop the spate of untrained vigilantes by requiring police certification in order to wear a mask and act as a vigilante. Opponents saw the law as a means by which a corrupt establishment could solidify its power base. For more information, consult the MEDIA ARCHIVE and the GOVERNMENT and HISTORY sections of this website.

Vincense, Paul (Paulie Crackers):

This scion of the d’Ambrosio family also is a “labor activist.” His Teamsters local represented the RAVENSGATE POLICE GUILD, still represents the Journal’s distribution drivers, and is heavily invested in TTI and a few other related companies.

“Vote The Bastards Out!” Recall Campaign (March-May 2002):

As the popularity of THE DOE FAMILY soared, many in Ravensgate saw their plight as a naked attempt by a corrupt establishment to maintain its power base. Sensing the forces aligned against THE DOE FAMILY, right-wing KRGO-TV commentator VIC CHARLTON inspired a recall campaign with the following words:

Normally, I’d ask you to write your city assemblyman and tell him to work on real issues, except that you don’t have one. Regardless of what they say, they don’t represent Aurora Gate, The Old World, South Market or Garfield Hill. They represent Throckmorton Steel, the Journal, the Spanno and Vincense Families, “Whiskey Sam” O’Muir, Simon Etienne Legba, Nehalem Amalgamated Plastics, Boss Yoakham, the Police Guild, and the rest of the crowd whose motto is “Business as usual since 1922.”

I have 14 words for you: Vote the bastards out. Don’t wait for the primary, start the recall petitions now!

Oregon has a mail-in primary and laws on its books allowing voters to recall elected officials. Voters took Charlton’s words to heart and, in May 2002, recalled the entire City Assembly. Eleven of the recalled Assemblymen resigned, six of them under criminal indictment, rather than run for re-election to their old jobs. Five others ran for their old offices and were defeated. Fifteen others, including MIHALY CIEZNIK, successfully campaigned to regain their offices. Voters elected 16 new Assemblymen, a more diverse group that includes LAURIE NUNEZ-WATKINS.

Warnell, Hancock (1937-):

An Exalted Pillar of Wisdom in the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE, Warnell was the THROCKMORTON GROUP’s Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications. The presence of JEAN-PIERRE D’AUBAINE’s libel machine made Warnell redundant, but there’s something to be said for LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR.’s loyalty to the families of deceased lackeys. Now, he’s a guest of the Federal government on racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.

Washington, Oscar:

A former student at COLLEGIUM CAINE, this young man is now Associate Dean and Director of Development and Community Relations.

Watkins, Laurie Nunez:

The wife of MOSE WATKINS and a major shareholder in DEVEREAUX D’AUBAINE WATKINS & LOCKSLEY, she recently won a seat on the City Assembly in the aftermath of the “VOTE THE BASTARDS OUT!” RECALL CAMPAIGN.

Watkins, Montague Moses (Mose), M.B.A. (1971-):

This savvy economist and administrator is President and Chief Financial Officer in both THE THROCKMORTON GROUP and DDWL. He is the younger brother of THEO.

Watkins, Theopilus Augustine (Theo), C.P.E. (1969-):

A hands-on whip-smart construction and civil engineer, this globe-trotting Executive VP in THE THROCKMORTON GROUP and DDWL is an ally of ALLAN LOCKSLEY and was a thorn in the side of LEMUEL THROCKMORTON JR. He is the older brother of MOSE.

Wilson, Veljon Lewiston (V.L.):

V.L. Wilson is the publisher of The Ravensgate Mercury Weekly and a former college classmate of VIC CHARLTON’s. He and the Weekly are near-polar opposites of Charlton’s politics.

Wittgenstein, Harvey (Bink), Ph.D.:

This Cal-Tech and NASA burnout is Associate Dean of COLLEGIUM CAINE and its number-two man.

Wylde, Nikko (1973-2001):

Officer Wylde switched units without the virtue of a transfer when the STREET CRIMES UNIT absorbed Gang Enforcement during her undercover assignment, infiltration of THE BLACK MASS motorcycle gang. Considering that she became the gun moll of the gang’s leader (Josias Throckmorton Moore Jr.) despite her moral qualms, that mission was deemed a success up until its tragic end.

She was murdered at Hamilton Point State Park on Summer Solstice 2001, but the identities of her killers remained unknown until she came back as a ghost nearly a year later.

Yoakham, Delbert (“Boss,” 1930-2003):

Just because he was 70-something years old and facing hundreds of criminal charges, does not mean Boss Yoakham was down for the count at the time he died. There has to be a reason he was District Attorney for 36 years. He resigned in April 2002 and dropped out of the Municipal Prosecutor race, leaving BRYAN SINCLAIR to run unopposed for the office. He was an Exalted Pillar of Wisdom in the AL-AMARJA SHRINE TEMPLE until the FOREST CREST raid. He died of a heart attack in February 2004 while in Federal custody on racketeering, murder, rape and kidnapping charges.