Challenger

Powers:

Iron Will (w): a discipline Bill learned while studying abroad, this mental power allows him to simply shrug off some damage. Thanks to this intensity 8 power, Bill may effectively cut all incoming damage of 8 or less in half, which has several benefits.

Taking his Strength into account, this provides him additional protection from injury above and beyond what most mortal crime fighters can withstand. Also, it allows him to better choose cards to discard when he is struck; this can help in long-term planning during a fight.

Equipment:

Firearms (a): though he doesn't always carry one, Bill does have multiple hand guns that he can wield in a fight - particularly if he knows his foes are going to be similarly armed. He can fire these to inflict +4 ranged damage per deadly blast.

Swords (s): as is the case with his hand guns, Bill does not always carry a blade with him; it just depends if he thinks his foes may as well. He can wield this blade to inflict +4 damage in melee, and cut through items of up to material strength 8 with ease.

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Boxing (s): one of many disciplines Bill has studied, this skill has given him mastery of the 'sweet science'. He may divide his pre-cardplay action score between two unarmed melee attacks, the last of which will occur as a contingent action.

Chemistry (i): one area Bill studied while abroad was the fine art of chemistry. He's learned how chemicals behave and how he can use these properties in the collection of evidence against evildoers. Bill makes chemical-based Intellect actions at a reduced difficulty.

Criminology (i): supplementing his Law studies, this skill showcases Bill's obsession with criminals. He has extensively studied the criminal mind, and as such he makes actions to predict how such individuals will behave at one difficulty level lower than usual.

Law (i): his original vocation, Bill was in college studying for his law degree when Fate touched his life. Though he has no official degree, he makes all legal actions at a reduced difficulty, whether determining if an act is legal or not or when representing in court.

Marksman (a): Bill is a master marksman, ready and willing to fight villains with guns if necessary. If he must engage in ranged combat with a firearm, whether it be a standard, semi-automatic or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Bill does so at a reduced difficulty level.

Martial Arts (a): Bill may use his Strength or Agility to resolve unarmed melee attacks. Furthermore, he may reduce the difficulty of actions intended to either lower falling damage or to catch thrown objects and subsequently negate their impact damage.

Piloting (a): another talent Bill thought would serve him well in his one man war against crime, this skill allows him to easily operate most 1940s era aircraft. Whenever making maneuvers in such craft, he does so at one difficulty level lower than is usually necessary.

Swords (s): Bill is competent with most melee weapons, but truly shines when he's got a sword in hand. Whether it's a rapier or a broad sword, Bill may Challenge his foes with one at one difficulty level lower than would otherwise be required.

Wrestling (s): if Bill inflicts damage in a round, he may attempt a Strength (strength) action to hold on; for every subsequent exchange that he can maintain this action (must recheck each time) he can inflict like damage against an opponent.

Calling:

Protector, with a secondary calling of Vengenace: wishing to crush all manner of criminals and scofflaws, Bill originally fell into the path of heroism after his own father was slain my mobsters - and announced his war on evil by brutally killing his own father's murderer.

Costume:

While active as the Challenger of criminals, Bill wore a gray, long sleeved shirt, a black and red cummerbund, skin tight gray trousers under gray trunks, purplish-gray boots, and a distinctive gray mask with a fighting harness on the skull and a star covering his nose and mouth.

Personality:

Bill Waring, the Challenger, is a clever and crafty fellow. Obsessed with his one-man war on crime, he spends every waking moment waging it - whether this involves maintaining his high skill level, consulting with the police on rough cases, or beating thugs into the pavement.

Real Name: Bill Waring
Occupation: adventurer, vigilante, records clerk
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with no known criminal record
Marital Status: unknown
Alias(es), if any: Master of a Thousand Weapons
Group Affiliation: none

Height: 6' 2"
Hair: red
Eyes: green
Weight: 250 lbs.
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: none

Story:

Back in the early thirties, Bill Waring was an average student of the Law, college bound and working hard to get his degree. Things took a turn for the worse in his life when his father was killed by the villainous Boss Dram, for having the gall to collect evidence of local corruption.

Becoming obsessed with not only making Dram pay, but becoming the scourge of criminals everywhere, Bill dropped out of school, disappeared, and began to walk the earth. On a quest for knowledge, he studied every discipline he could think of that would assist him in dealing with criminals.

Learning both scientific and martial knowledge, Bill became a master of chemistry, piloting, criminology, boxing, various martial arts disciplines, and learned how to competently wield just about any weapon, both of a melee and ranged variety. Ready in 1941, Bill returned to the States.

Working for a time as a simple records clerk, the man learned the ins and outs of city government, and gathered all the information he needed to know in order to bust Dram once and for all. Stalking the unaware Boss Dram, Bill killed the man to declare that his one man war on crime was on!

Making the authorities aware of his presence, intentions and identity, Bill then began to work with the police as they dealt with all manner of bizarre issues that confounded the average copper on the street. This began when the police needed help with the so-called Strangler.

This odd fellow, who posed as a cop for his own amusement, would become overwhelmed with homicidal mania upon seeing the full moon, and would kill left and right until it finally faded. Laying a series of traps for the mass murderer, Bill finally killed him himself with telephone wire.

Next, Bill had to deal with the Ape, a monstrous boxer who was tricked into crime by the mob. Helping them rob a bank, he was shot in the head when trying to escape, and the bullet drove him into an irrational, killing frenzy... one that could only be stopped by taking him down - permanently!

Perhaps one of Bill's most harrowing battles involved the League of Crime, consisting of Nails Swigman, master gunman, Crusher Collins, wrestler extraordinare, Pierre La Verne, master swordsman, and Remu the Great, a veritable super-psychologist and the group's criminal mastermind.

Other villains he's come into conflict with include Murdok the illusion-casting insurance fraud, and the Lizard, an ex-con who decided to embark on a bizarre archery scheme to get revenge against anyone and everyone that was 'foolish' enough to throw him into jail for a decade.

Bill Challenged these and many more villains over the course of the second World War, fighting crime domestically while other heroes were concentrating on international issues. Though a loner for the most part, everyone knew who he was, and that they could depend on him to deal with blight of crime!

Extra Goodies: