Wild Bill Crane

There is an important difference between the words “losers” and “outlaw.” One is passive and the other is active, and the main reason the Angels are such good copy is that they are acting out the daydreams of millions of losers who don’t wear any defiant insignia and who don’t know how to be outlaws. The streets of every city are thronged with men who would pay all the money they could get their hands on to be transformed—even for a day—into hairy, hard-fisted brutes who walk over cops, extort free drinks from terrified bartenders and thunder out of town on big motorcycles after raping the banker’s daughter. Even people who think the Angels should all be put to sleep find it easy to identify with them. They command a fascination, however reluctant, that borders on psychic masturbation.
―Hunter S. Thompson, “Hell’s Angels”

William “Wild Bill” Crane

Statistics
Age: 45, Nationality: American, Birthplace: Lincoln, Nebraska, 1980.
Sing of Ghroth: Second Stanza, Ghroth Points: 13. Mi-Go Conditioning: 70%.

Combat

Skills
Accounting 25%, Anthropology 1%, Appraise 10%, Archeology 1%, Charm 15%, Climb 30%, Computer Use 25%, Credit Rating 35%, Disguise 5%, Drive Auto 60%, Drive Motorcycle 75%, Electrical Repair 50% Electronics 510%, Fast Talk 60%, First Aid 40%, History 5%, Intimidate 80%, Jump 30%, Law 35%, Library Use 25%, Listen 35%, Locksmith 40%, Mechanical Repair 65%, Medicine 15%, Natural World 15%, Navigate 10%, Occult 40%, Operate Heavy Machinery 50%, Paranormal Studies 50%, Persuade 65%, Psychology 50%, Psychoanalysis 1%, Ride 20%, Sleight of Hand 20%, Spot Hidden 60%, Stealth 60%, Streetwise 3575 Survival 25%, Swim 20%, Throw 40%, Track 25%

Description

The leader of the Black Goat’s Bethmoora-Klaatu chapter is William “Wild Bill” Crane, a wiry, mean-looking son-of-a-bitch with Viking tattoos, a black Van Dyke beard, and a mangled left ear. His fingers are covered with imposing rings sprouting eyeballs, skulls, and upside-down crosses. He carries a switchblade knife in his boot, piano wire in his belt, and a Dan Wesson .357 magnum holstered to his leg.

History
Billy Crane was born into an outlaw biker family from Lincoln, Nebraska—his father was an Enforcer for the Sons of Silence. After his old man was imprisoned for first-degree murder, Crane attempted to “go straight,” and eventually landed a gig as a track mechanic at the GPCA. In 2005, Crane was drinking at the Buzzard with Ernie Watts, an itinerant antenna painter from New Mexico. The two began arguing about Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. Half-jokingly, Watts challenged Crane to a duel, and the mechanic accepted.

The two drove their Harleys to the “old UFO golf course” and stood back-to back at the 8th hole. Crane was armed with his father’s Dan Wesson .357 magnum, while Watts carried a .38 special. Each loaded one bullet in the cylinder, counted off ten paces in the opposite direction, turned and fired. To their mutual amazement, both bullets found their targets: Watts shot through Crane’s left ear, while Crane placed a magnum round in his opponent’s stomach. In a state of panic, Crane walked over to his bleeding friend and crushed his head with a piece of broken concrete. He dragged the lifeless body to the Lakefront, wrenched the metal gears from a broken duck boat, and tangled them around Watt’s belt. Still, it wasn’t enough to weigh down the corpse, so Crane waded into the Marsh, stabbed the body full of holes, and shoved a few bricks down Watt’s pants. When he returned to his Harley, William Crane encountered the Dismal Lake Moth Man.

Crane was taken into Klaat’hlu and fitted with an implant. (Hoping to avoid a police investigation, the Mi-Go ordered Allen Noyes to relocate the Watt’s bike to a quarry in Colorado.) Crane spent three weeks among the Mi-Go, who used him to practice and refine a new method of mental conditioning using yuggoth and hypnosis. Eventually Crane’s memories of the abduction experience were wiped, and he was released. After a period of intense nightmares, Crane joined the Black Goat MC, rising quickly through their ranks. Famous for his drunken duel, he was given the name “Wild Bill,” and since then has defended his honor on three separate occasions, two of them lethal. In 2008 Crane was “summoned” back to Devil’s Tower to lead a new chapter of the Black Goats.

Notable Possessions
Wild Bill rides a customized, black and silver 2013 Harley-Davidson FXDB Dyna Street Bob with blackened rims, blackened Vance & Hines Big Radius Exhaust pipes, and a blackened Twin Cam 103 engine. A silver valknut trefoil knot is mounted on the gas tank, and the black leather seat is etched with Viking runes. Wild Bill owns a Dan Wesson Model 15-2HV .357 magnum revolver with four detachable barrels: 2.5”, 4”, 6”, and 8”. He usually has the 6” barrel equipped. The revolver has been engraved with Black Goat insignia, and the left grip has 4 small holes drilled into it; one for each person Wild Bill has defeated in a duel. He customarily carries the revolver in a tactical drop-leg holster.

The Role of Wild Bill Crane

Wild Bill Crane is a True Believer, and has a pretty accurate understanding of his role in this apocalyptic narrative—the Outer Ones are at war with other alien races, and only they can protect the planet. He doesn’t care if some of his fellow Goats think the Mi-Go are Martians, fallen angels, machine elves, or demons, as long as they obey their orders and protect Klaatu from harm. “Wild Bill” fully expects to be rewarded one day, his brain taken to the stars and granted eternal life.

The most intelligent and capable of the region’s Black Goats, Wild Bill may be dispatched to interact with the player characters when a little finesse is called for—finesse backed by a .357 magnum, of course. He’s a known quantity at Hayden, and counts himself a regular at the Iron Horse and Ballantine Gas. Having said that, the increased pressure of his responsibilities has destabilized Wild Bill along with everyone else in Hayden, and he’s more likely to be putting out fires at Devil’s Tower than visiting his old haunt, the Buzzard. The imminence of Ghroth has pushed hard against Bill’s conditioning, and his nightmares have returned—he’s starting to suspect that some of his “decisions” regarding the Black Goats didn’t spring from his own free will. Furthermore, he’s just been notified that his father may be paroled in April. Bill has mixed feelings about that, and is half-hoping the Parole Board sends the old man back for life.

Notes and Inspirations

If Bible Black were a movie, Wild Bill would be played by Kim Coates—the actor who portrayed Alexander “Tig” Trager in Sons of Anarchy. He also rides the motorcycle I ride in my “daydreams.”

Bible Black > NPC Profiles
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Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 21 September 2026
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
Bible Black PDF: [TBD]