William Headley

William Headley is an iconic character from 4th Edition who first appears on page 234 of Basic Set at the start of the Magic section. A small profile of him is shown on B314 next to his stat writeup, and full-length art at B386. He also returns on page 68 of GURPS Magic and on the cover of the Character Assistant.Basic Set, p.314-315
He is a member of ISWAT, and by extension, an officer of the Infinity Patrol. 
== History and Extrapolation ==
Although his home timeline is not stated on his character writeup, we can formulate a few rough estimates about him and his timeline.
Much of Headley's work took place during and slightly after WWII, and involved the enigmatic Ancient Ones (possibly Ancient Ones). As William is 43, and has been in academics since (his own timeline's) 1933. we can assume that he was at least 22 after getting his four-year degree. This would place his birth at no later than 1911, being just a child during the first World War.
Continuing with this math, he would have been at least 30 when he joined the United States Office of Strategic Services, and was 33 on Victory in Europe Day (1945), a benchmark end of WWII.
Sometime between (his timeline) 1945 and 1954, William traveled to Taft-7 and discovered a group of Infinity officers. He found a way to portal into the Homeline timeline, hoping that his warnings on Homeline would be listened to--the Ancient Ones are coming, and Homeline could turn into Taft-7 if they do nothing.
=== Timeline Extrapolation ===
William's home timeline split somewhere around WWII, resulting in an Allied victory and the reveal of a secret SS occult library in Wewelsberg. This would put the timeline somewhere after 1945, and would exclude all Reich and axis-power-wins worlds.
== Personality and Skillset ==
William is effectively a professor of occultism, with extensive skills in medicine, communication, and mind studies, making him a rather effective liaison to any local factions he meets. He knows several languages besides English (Latin, German, Arabic, and Ancient Egyptian) and is remarkably well-read. Despite his Unfazeable trait, he still suffers from nightmares and insomnia, and feels deeply and personally responsible for the ISWAT team returning safely from a mission. He is one of the few mages that Infinity employs.
When he's not on missions, he's usually found reading and smoking a pipe (if it can be done simultaneously). His inability to sleep occasionally leads him to be up at odd hours with his insomniac coworker, Louis d'Antares.
== Trivia ==
* Prof. William Headley is comfortably wealthy, possibly owing to his status as team leader (and/or tenured professor and magic consultant). The only other wealthy member is Baron Janos Telkozep, who manages finances and has significant landholdings.
=== Mysterious Mustache Mage ===
B328 (above "Fatigue" in Combat Lite) depicts Headley dropping his staff as a mustached man in a blue suit holds him up (although this could be d'Antares in modern formalwear).
This man appears to be a mage too as he has appeared in other supplements pertaining to magic (B79, T0/T41) He might be inspired by Doctor Strange or Vincent Van Ghoul.
Crops of Headley and this man from 79/486 are also used on the cover of the character assistant.
== References ==
Category:Characters W/ Stats
Category:ISWAT