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For the most part Bill Waring, the Challenger, is naught but a normal human being. His prowess comes from his incredibly focused training in the martial and scientific arts, though he does know secret nerve control techniques that grant him one seeming psionic power.

Known Powers:

Unyielding Will: a discipline Bill learned while studying abroad, this mental power allows him to temporarily shrug off physical damage. Possessing this power at rank value 20, he can easily dispense with most harm mundane criminals can inflict upon him for a short while.

Limitations / Enhancements:



Firearms: 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 arms to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage per deadly blast.

Swords: 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 such implements to inflict Slashing damage in melee, and cut through items of up to m.v. 40.




Chemistry: 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 - the better to destroy them with. His Intellect in chemical matters is +1 RS.

Criminology: supplementing his Law studies, this skill showcases Bill's obsession with criminals. He has extensively studied the criminal mind, and as such he can predict how such individuals will behave as though his Intellect score was +1 RS higher than is listed above.

Guns: 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 his Coordination value +1 RS.

Law: his original vocation, Bill was in college studying for his law degree when Fate touched his life. Though he has no official degree, his Intellect in legal matters should be considered +1 RS in value, whether determining if an act is legal or not or when representing in court.

Martial Arts styles A, B, C, D, and E: a master martial artist, Bill has worked hard to learn multiple fighting styles. He receives a +1 RS on all unarmed melee attacks, and a like bonus to Dodge, Escape, Grapple, and Weave maneuvers. But wait, there's more.

In addition to these benefits, Bill may inflict Pound or Concuss results on a target regardless of his comparative Brawn or Fortitude, being able to ignore body armor as well after two rounds of studying his foe, and he receives a +1 to his initiative while he's making unarmed attacks.

Piloting: 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, his Coordination is treated as +1 RS - to the limit of the vehicle's Control rating.

Weapons Master: a part of his quest to learn the skills needed in his chosen vocation, Bill has learned how to wield almost any weapon with competence. Whether actions using a weapon are resolved with Melee or Coordination, Bill may wield it without penalty.


In the 1940s, Bill was alone in his one-man Challenge against crime. He didn't work with other heroes, even when taking on entire teams of villains at once. He's learning to become a team player, however, now that he's in charge of Montana's very own Freedom Force!


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.


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


Back in the 1930s, 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 his corruption.

Becoming obsessed with not only making Dram pay, but becoming the scourge of criminals everywhere, Bill dropped out of school, disappeared, and walked the earth. On his quest for knowledge, Bill studied every discipline he believed would assist him in his war 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 by 1941, Bill went home.

Working for a time as a simple records clerk, Bill learned the ins and outs of city government, and gathered all the information he needed to bust Dram once and for all. Stalking the unaware Boss Dram, Bill finally 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, was 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 the Strangler himself with telephone wire.

Next, Bill had to deal with the Ape, a monstrous boxer 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 extraordinaire, Pierre La Verne, master swordsman, and Remu the Great, a 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 during the War, fighting crime domestically while other heroes concentrated on international issues. Though a loner for the most part, everyone knew the Challenger, and that they could depend on him to deal with crime's blight!

At least, until shortly after the war. It seems that, sometime in the late 1940s, though his crime fighting war still proceeded apace, something inexplicable happened to Bill, a strange event that has whisked him to what we know as the present. Not that this bothers Bill much.

Though the names and faces have changed, criminals are all the same to him. In our time, however, Bill is not alone in his endeavors. As a part of the 50 State Initiative, Bill has signed on as the leader of the Freedom Force, Montana's own group of super-heroic defenders!

Extra Goodies:

Challenger 4C System: Edition 13 Text File Download

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