Ned Britton (NED BRIT-un)

A Southern Explorer

Edwin Britton (a.k.a. Ned)

Ned Britton was born in 1885 in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of a steamboat captain and a teacher. Raised on tales of the sea, the Civil War's lingering ghosts, and his mother’s fierce lectures on dignity and literature, Ned developed early into a fast-talking, sharp-thinking teenager. By 14, he had already run away twice—once to join a salvage crew, and once to escape it. His adventures spanned the Mississippi, the Caribbean, and eventually the gold-laden coasts of West Africa and Brazil. Often depicted in fiction as the “clever sidekick,” Ned was in fact the moral heart of the Boy Fortune Hunters trio. Though Archie Ackley had the brains and Sam Steele the brawn, Ned was the conscience—the one who refused to steal from sacred sites, who gave their earnings to local workers, and who protected innocents caught in their crossfire. His understanding of street politics and ability to “read a room” saved them far more often than his fists did. By his early twenties, Ned had become a seasoned traveler, fluent in Spanish and passable in Arabic and Portuguese. He’d developed a reputation for settling disputes, moving goods without corruption, and helping indigenous communities resist colonial agents. That’s when the League came knocking.

League Member Note
Dates Active in League: 1906-1919
Ned joined the League in 1906 as a diplomatic and logistics operative. He was deployed in regions where tensions ran high and where League presence needed to feel like assistance—not enforcement. Whether it was bribing corrupt customs officers or arranging safe passage through volatile regions, Ned handled it all with a wink and a dagger tucked in his belt. Though not a formal academic, Ned had street smarts and cross-cultural instincts that even the League’s finest struggled to match. He once resolved a deadly standoff in Casablanca by delivering a heartfelt toast in four languages and naming every member of the rebel cell's family line—correctly. He kept his skills sharp and his boots muddy, often joining Sam Steele on field missions where both practical sense and empathy were needed. Ned left the League in 1919 after a deeply personal mission in Venezuela involving a League operative gone rogue. He retired to Naples, where he continued working as a freelance fixer for humanitarian causes and black-market art recovery. Known in League memory as the “Gentle Gambler,” Ned never lost a friend he could save—or a fight he couldn’t talk down.
****END NOTE****

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Lean and wiry, like a man used to running, climbing, and vanishing quickly. Always agile, never imposing—but undeniably quick and tough when it counted.

Facial Features

Sloped nose from an old break, ever-present grin, and crow’s feet earned too early from sun, squinting, and smiling at trouble. He carried both charm and tiredness in his eyes.

Special abilities

Master negotiator and fluent improviser. Could talk his way through foreign checkpoints, royal courts, or cursed ruins without breaking stride. Innate sense for reading risk and hidden motives.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

A wanderer by nature, Ned left Charleston young and never looked back. He found family in the field—first with the Fortune Hunters, then with the League. What he lacked in pedigree, he made up for in instinct.

Sexuality

Rarely formalized. Known for deep romantic loyalty but no public long-term partner.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Ned wanted to right wrongs he’d seen growing up—poverty, racism, and exploitation. He never sought power, just leverage to help the right people.

Likes & Dislikes

Loved: Cards, storytelling, sunsets on foreign docks, and a good bottle shared.
Disliked: Bullies, condescension, and any operation where the “helped” didn’t have a voice.

Virtues & Personality perks

Empathic, adaptable, courageous, and deeply loyal. Often stepped in when others hesitated. Never needed credit.

Vices & Personality flaws

Could be too forgiving or willing to “bend rules” for the greater good. Bit of a loner when not on mission. Held grudges, especially against those who abused trust.

Representation & Legacy

Known as the League’s “Silver Tongue.” His field journals were turned into a secret training manual for undercover cultural liaisons. His name is still spoken in port cities from Lagos to Havana.

Social

Social Aptitude

High charisma, streetwise, disarming. Adapted to any company—from royal courts to criminal dens—with humor and charm.

Speech

Smooth and casual, full of metaphors, Southern warmth, and surprising turns of phrase. Could flirt, threaten, or philosophize in the same breath.

Species

Duine

Realm

The Mortal Realm

Date of Birth

February 8, 1885

Date of Death

February 12, 1958

Life

1885 CE 1958 CE 73 years old

Circumstances of Death

Died of natural causes while living abroad as a travel writer and cultural diplomat.

Birthplace

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Place of Death

Naples, Italy

Children

Sex

Male

Sexuality

Bisexual

Eyes

Dark green

Hair

Black with a coppery sheen in sun

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Olive-toned with sun weathering

Height

5'10"

Weight

162 lbs

Quotes & Catchphrases

A fella’s fortune ain’t gold—it’s who’s watching your back.

Aligned Organization

The League

Character Prototype

Libra
Charming, perceptive, justice-minded.