Wild Bill
| F Gd 10 |
A Ex 20 |
S Ty 6 |
E Gd 10 |
R Gd 10 |
I Ty 6 |
P Ex 20 |
Res Ex 20 |
Pop Sh 0 |
| Health: Karma: |
46 36 |
Origin:
Like the vast majority of his fellow Joes, William is naught but a normal human, lacking any sort of arcane background, psionic schooling, or freaky mutant powers whatsoever. However, he does have enough personality for ten men, and he's generally at the stick of advanced aircraft while on missions, so for all intents and purposes, I suppose you could consider him a high tech hero type of guy.
Known Powers:
(none)
Equipment:
the Joe-Com: this newer, advanced device was given to all Joes upon the group's reactivation at the beginning of the 21st century - and thus, to William when he regularly aids them in battle. This high-tech wristband functions as an audio/video transceiver with various other goodies built in to help a soldier on the go, and is described in greater detail in its own equipment entry.
Knife: as do most military men, William carries with him a blade at all times should he need to cut something in a hurry, or should he find himself otherwise unarmed. His blades are usually of at least Remarkable (30) material strength, and he can use them to cut through materials of like strength - or to inflict Typical (6) Edged Attack damage to living beings.
M-16 / M-203 Combo: a recent addition to William's arsenal, this weapon is a combination assault rifle and grenade launcher. The M-16 portion of this weapon can fire a single shot to inflict Typical (6) Shooting damage, +1 CS in a short burst, and +2 CS in a sustained firing pattern. The M-203 can fire a 40mm grenade which inflicts Remarkable (30) Edged Attack damage to all within its detonation area.
Twin Revolvers: carried more for style than anything else, these twin six-shooters are William's preferred fighting pieces. Each of them can be fired to inflict Typical (6) Shooting damage per deadly shot, and can be fired six times before they need to be reloaded. However, they're not too practical for extended firefights, as they don't utilize clips; a reload takes a full turn to accomplish.
Quirks:
Likeability: more than anything else, William is an exceptionally friendly guy, and tends to get good reactions out of practically everybody he meets. When interacting with others, William should receive NPC reactions that are one level more favorable, unless said NPC is already hostile to him (such as your standard Cobra operatives, etc...). He's just that amicable.
Talents:
Aerial Combat: naturally, one of William's greatest skills is his ability to fight in the air - usually while contained within some advanced aerial fighting machine, that is. Whenever he's piloting an aircraft, whether it be his beloved Dragonfly (or Locust) or any other helicopter (or airplane), William makes any applicable combat FEAT rolls as though the statistic in question was +1 CS higher in rank.
Guns: a talent that William was given during his basic training, and then honed through years of battle, this skill demonstrates his abilities with a gun. Whether he is using a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol, he may do so as though his Agy score was +1 CS in rank. He'd rather not have to use this skill, preferring to rely on his aircraft in battle, but you never know...
Martial Arts type B: another talent gained through the Army, this skill describes William's capability to defend himself should he find himself completely unarmed. Whether he utilizes a kick, punch, head butt, knee smash, elbow crush, or any other physical maneuver with his body, William may do so as though his Ftg score was +1 CS higher than is listed above.
Military: the skill that all his others are wrapped around, this background-style talent describes William's origin as an Army operative. This talent provides him innumerable military contacts, as well as an innate understanding of military protocols. Furthermore, he can use this talent whenever attempting to lead a body of fighting men into combat, per the leadership skill.
Pilot / Air: William has been properly trained how to fly by the Army, and he's taken each lesson to heart from day one. He can fly any helicopter or airplane competently, and performs various airborne maneuvers as though his Agy (or the vehicle's Control rating) was +1 CS in rank - whichever is lower. He's never actually flown any fighter jets, however.
Tracking: having learned how to hunt effectively as a child, William has been encouraged by the Joe team to extend these skills into an official capacity on the job. As such, he can attempt to follow a body based on the trail they leave behind by passing a yellow Int FEAT roll, and once he locates their trail, he can track them unless they actively destroy said trail; this may require additional FEAT rolls...
Contacts:
As one of the oldest Joes, and having known several of them before he even joined the team, William can easily receive aid from the team should he need it, as he's saved their bacon more times than one can readily count. Furthermore, as a Vietnam vet and high ranking individual, William can also rely on innumerable (and as of yet unnamed) military style contacts should he need to...
Costume:
William's eleventh Gi Joe uniform is a variation on his tenth, though a minor one at that. It mainly includes a grass green vest with a Gi Joe logo that he wears over a white tank top, roomy, comfortable tan trousers, a brown leather belt with a brass belt buckle, brown and light orange leather flight gloves, brown leather boots, and twin brown and green holsters to hold his twin revolvers.
Personality:
William is very amicable and slow talking, one of the friendliest people you'll ever know. He thinks of himself as a country-western singer, a general complement of his love for all things southern. He's totally honest in his personal life, though he's not above telling a tall tale or two to keep his friends entertained. As you can guess, William's like every Joe's best friend...
Real Name: William S. Hardy, Grade CW-4 (Chief Warrant Officer)
Occupation: helicopter pilot, fixed wing pilot, air cavalry scout
Legal Status: American citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: Gi Joe, Tiger Force (Gi Joe sub group)
Height: 5' 11"
Hair: red-brown
Eyes: blue (?)
Weight: 165 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: William wears a thick, distinctive moustache
Story:
William Hardy grew up in the small town of Brady, Texas, where he acquired his love for country-western music, his characteristic Texas drawl, and his penchant for fantastic storytelling. During the Vietnam War, William signed up with the Army, and while on a tour of duty in that country, he participated in various Long Range Recon Patrol missions as a combat infantryman.
Once his tour was complete, William - who had since acquired the nickname Wild Bill - re-enlisted in the Flight Warrant Officer's school. Once he became a fully trained helicopter pilot, William wound up flying missions in some of the most dangerous locations on earth, including a particularly deadly transport assignment for the brand new Gi Joe team in the middle east.
Though that mission itself wound up being a failure, William impressed the Joe team's field leader enough that he earned a position on the team during its first expansion. In fact, William's very first mission involved his flying several Joes to Alaska to relieve their fellows when Cobra tried to sabotage the Alaska Pipeline. After this operation, William went on to participate in most Joe missions in some capacity.
Whether he's flying a Joe Dragonfly, one of the Tomahawk copters, or even the team's C-130 transport aircraft, William has been an integral part of the team's air support, whether aided by Lift Ticket or the team's jet fighter pilots. Of course, he's also managed to crash more than his fair share of aircraft during his time with the Joe team, but then, he's obviously survived every single one of 'em.
Some of the more harrowing operations that William has experienced include his participation in the Battle of Springfield, the Cobra Island Civil War, and the defense of the first Pit. However, he's seen far worse, having been involved with various skirmishes with the Oktober Guard concerning either defecting Soviet military men or recovered black boxes from a Cobra firebat aircraft.
Probably the single worst experience William's had with the Joe team, of course, was when his C-130 transport was hijacked by Dreadnoks while he was waiting to pick up Hawk and Roadblock in the war-torn nation of Sierra Gordo's airport. Zarana and several Dreadnoks, fleeing from local insurgents tired of Cobra's puppet rule of the nation who were killing every Cobra they could find - and the Dreadnoks wanted out.
Of course, the plane was shot down shortly after William took off, and this left the Joes and Dreadnoks - several of which were wounded - to fend for themselves in the nearby jungles while irate nationals were out for their blood. With luck, and somehow managing to work together, William, the other Joes, and Zarana's Dreadnoks managed to escape by using their wits (and Thrasher's berserk rage).
Through all this, though, William has stuck with the Joes, no matter how ugly things got - he's simply too stubborn to give up on the fight against Cobra and other, similarly evil terrorist organizations. Though the team was disbanded for a short while, he returned to the fold several years later, upon its reactivation. He's now flying the brand new, Night Attack Chopper while he's in action with the Gi Joe the team.
Not to mention operating several other advanced vehicles, both air and ground based, depending on where the team needs him. He's happy to continue the fight against Cobra though, and has done so through that organization's second and third major defeats. Now that they're on the run in the wake of World War III, William is sticking with the Joes to help hunt down all of their fugitive members.
Extra Goodies:
Gi Joe directories featuring a version of Wild Bill:
| 1983 | 1992 | 1993 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2008 | 2009 |
* Note: 2003 saw two versions of Wild Bill released (Versions 6 and 7), while 2004 saw three (Versions 8, 9 and 10).