| Boozer.png | |
| Physical description | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| In-game information | |
| Voiced by | Jim Pirri |
William “Boozer” Gray is the deuteragonist of Days Gone. Once a Sergeant-at-Arms of the Mongrels Motorcycle Club and is Deacon St. John closest friend.
Two years later, he is now a survivor of the Freaker outbreak which has decimated the world across the Pacific Northwest. Boozer works as a mercenary alongside Deacon accepting bounties in exchange for supplies.
History
Background
Boozer was born in the late 1970's and grew up in Adrian, Oregon. As a child, his father often took him elk hunting in the woods and taught him how to track where Boozer learned how to locate wild animals from miles away.
He also enjoyed going to his uncle's farm located near the Idaho border, in the summers he worked on the beef fields, it was here where Boozer learned how to ride an old dirt bike and he discovered his love of motorcycles.
As an adult, Boozer once worked as a Truck driver. He was later patched into the Mongrels Motorcycle Club, where he rose through the ranks and eventually earned the rank of Sergeant-at-Arms of the mother charter in Farewell.
He soon met his Enforcer member named Deacon St. John who became his closest friend and the pair came to regard each other as 'brothers'. He also befriended a later member named 'Jersey' Jim. Together they served under their President Jack who acted as an inspirational figure to them.
Some years later, Boozer met a woman named Joany, where the pair fell in love and eventually happily married. Together the couple often talked about purchasing a house located near Berley Lake.
Tragically, one night while Boozer and Joany went out for a ride they were hit by a group of drunk drivers who crashed into them off of Highway 97 and Joany was killed, enraged, Boozer murdered the drivers.
The MC later arrived at the scene where Deacon dragged Boozer away and the MC were forced to temporarily leave Joany's corpse behind and then lied to the police about the events, in order to spare Boozer a conviction for manslaughter.
Joany's death drove Boozer into deep depression and he descended into alcoholism. Deacon found him halfway through a whiskey case, unwilling to watch his best friend commit suicide, Deacon chugged a whole bottle down and told him if he was going to drink himself to death he wouldn't be doing it alone, because that's what brothers do. Boozer was emotionally touched by Deacon's willingness to sacrifice himself for him and so he continued to live, burying his grief.
At some point, a disgraced MC member Jessie Williamson was excommunicated after he killed another member over a bag of drugs. The MC's code stipulated that he must be stripped of his colours. Boozer alongside Deacon and Jersey Jim forcibly held him down while Jack burned his back tattoo with a blowtorch and Jessie banished from the MC.
Boozer was later introduced to Deacon's girlfriend named Sarah Whitaker, a botanist and bio-engineer where the two became close friends and he came to regard her as a 'little sister'. At the wedding, other than the minister, Boozer was the only person that attended their wedding.
At the start of the outbreak, Boozer meets up with Deacon and Sarah, making his way through their town with them.
Events of Days Gone
Injury
Two years after the end of society, Boozer travels with Deacon across the region, "living the dream" as post-apocalyptic bounty hunters. He and Deacon have been planning on heading North to get away from the increasing number of Freakers and the bad memories they have of the region.
After killing Leon, their bounty, and collecting evidence, the two decide to prepare on leaving in the coming days. However, Boozer briefly gets separated from Deacon and is attacked by the Rest in Peace Cult, better known as the Rippers. They torture him with a blowtorch, seriously burning the skin and muscle on his right forearm. Though the two drifters get away safely, Boozer begins to get sick, forcing Deacon to care for him.
Moving to Iron Mike's Camp
As time goes on, Boozer's situation becomes dire, and it is discovered that he has contracted blood poisoning from his injury. Deacon, desperate to save his friend, decides to take him to the Lost Lake encampment. Deacon is still banned from entry due to how he ended relations with Iron Mike, the camp's leader. He decides to get Rikki, an old traveling companion of him and Boozer's, to take them in.
There, Boozer is given the best medicine left around, including antibiotics taken by Deacon from a crashed plane in Ripper territory. However, his condition continues to worsen, and the camp's doctor, Addison, says that they have to amputate where he was injured. After cutting off the extremity, Boozer begins to improve physically. Eventually, he contracts some form of depression over feeling useless, becoming sad when stuck at the camp and losing all sense of self-preservation when out in the wilds with Deacon. He also beats up an overly aggressive Deacon for being unable to let go of Sarah after two years. To help Boozer cope with his new reality, Deacon finds and gives Boozer a healthy puppy, which he names Jack, after their long-deceased friend.
Dealing with the Rippers
Later on, Boozer gets temporarily taken hostage during a camp raid by the Rippers. However, Deacon arrives to a standoff between "Carlos" (Deacon and Boozer's old enemy Jessie) and his Rippers, and Iron Mike and Skizzo.
Carlos is forced to let Boozer go and adhere to the treaty. Knowing that Carlos won't stop killing until he has them both, Deacon and Boozer decide to kill off the remaining Rippers. They decide to use the explosives that the camp has acquired to destroy the hydroelectric dam that the cult is based around. Boozer volunteers himself to go and plant the charges with his remaining arm while Deacon gives him cover with a sniper rifle. After planting the charges, Boozer returns to Deacon, and together they blow up the dam, destroying the Rippers' camp and killing almost all of them.
Boozer and Deacon go to confront Carlos themselves, and after fighting through most of his surviving followers, they make it into his home to kill him. However, a broken staircase prevents Boozer from going upstairs to fight Carlos with his friend, so he boosts Deacon up to the second floor. Deacon brutally fights with Carlos to the death, and manages to end him once and for all. After that, he reunites with Boozer, who wonders if the former Jessie is the only person left from their past, which Deacon decides to be the case.
Saying goodbyes
When Deacon confirms that Sarah is actually alive, he goes to say farewell to Boozer, who has decided to stay at Iron Mike's Camp indefinitely with Jack. Boozer bids his old friend farewell, and Deacon leaves the valley to find Sarah.
Deacon briefly returns to the valley to get some machinery for Sarah's research from Cloverdale, her old workplace. After discovering that there are self-automated corn farms protected by an electric fence, Deacon calls Boozer to inform everyone at the camp of the resource. Deacon also tells Boozer that Sarah is alive, who in turn asks Deacon to greet her for him.
Last stand against the Militia
Later, Deacon returns to Iron Mike's Camp to fight against the Deschutes County Militia, happy to discover that the camp managed to repel the first attack. After Iron Mike's death, Deacon decides to lead the camp in an all-out assault on militia's base on Wizard Island, using a fertilizer truck bomb as a battering ram. Boozer chooses to drive the vehicle into the gates, despite Deacon's protests, as there is a high risk of death. Boozer insists on doing it, and successfully destroys the main armaments of the militia, seemingly being killed in the blast.
After the battle is over, Deacon is overjoyed to discover that Boozer jumped out of the truck at the last second, falling into the lake and barely escaping the blast unscathed. He sees Sarah for the first time in two years, and the two reunite with a hug. After the battle, Boozer settles down with Deacon and Sarah at Iron Mike's Camp, and continues to rebuild and survive with their friends and allies.
Personality
Much like Deacon, Boozer continues to wear his Mongrels MC kutte, likely as a symbol of respect for their fallen brothers and in memory of their old way of life. Boozer has a deep sense of loyalty towards his friends.
Despite the harsh reality of the post-apocalyptic world, Boozer is quick to crack jokes in order to lighten the mood, even at his own expense.
Boozer can be prone to bouts of anger leading him to act aggressively, such as when he discovered Rippers killing uninfected dogs which lead him to killing the Rippers.
Appearance
Boozer is tall and has a muscular build. He is adorned with tattoos all over his body, including his head, which he keeps shave to display them.
Weapons & Equipment
- Personal shotgun
- Pistol: Boozer will carry a pistol while he and Deacon go to finish off the last of the Rippers.
- Prosthetic arm: After having his arm amputated, Boozer received a prosthetic arm from Deacon and Rikki. His new arm can be attached with a knife, a hook and a gear shifter.
Vehicles
- Motorcycle: Before the loss of his arm, Boozer rode a blue chopper. Despite no longer being able to ride, Deacon brought the bike to Boozer in order to keep his spirits up.
- Dump Truck: Boozer was a competent truck driver, as he was able to drive a large dump truck with ease.
Trivia
- William is derived from the Old High German name Willehelm whose Biblical meaning is ‘determined protector’. His surname Gray is of Scottish origin.
- Boozer never uses his real name, the reason for this is unknown.
- Boozer's signature weapon is his personal shotgun which is modelled on the Mossberg 500 Cruiser with a carry sling.
- Boozer's rank of Sergeant-at-Arms means he served as the right-hand man to the President of the Club, only being outranked by the President and Vice President in his charter.
- Boozer was the only attendee of Deacon's and Sarah's wedding.
- Boozer's bike appears to be comparatively unmodified when compared to Deacon's bike, resembling a standard street chopper.
Gallery
