ASSORTED CHARACTER ADAPTATIONS
CAPTAIN SIR RICHARD BURTON
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 13 STR 3 12- Lift 151.6 kg; 2 1/2d6 HTH Damage [3] 20 DEX 30 13- OCV: 7/DCV: 7 17 CON 18 12- 12 BODY 4 11- 18 INT 8 13- PER Roll 13- 18 EGO 16 13- ECV: 6 16 PRE 6 12- PRE Attack: 3d6 14 COM 2 12- 7 PD 5 Total: 7 PD (0 rPD) 5 ED 2 Total: 5 ED (0 rED) 4 SPD 10 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 7 REC 2 40 END 3 33 STUN 5 Total Characteristic Cost: 114 Movement: Running: 7"/14" Leaping: 2"/4" Swimming: 2"/4" Cost Powers & Skills 10 Hypnotism: Multipower, 50-point reserve, all slots Extra Time (5 Minutes, -2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (0 DCV; -1), No Range (-1/2), Requires A Skill Roll- Hypnotist (Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 20 Active Points; -1/4) Notes: Hypnotism represents the 'Realistic' Hypnotism from The Ultimate Mentalist. I cannot justify the cinematic version, but Burton may be slightly better then this and probably knows how to improve his Hypnotism using drugs and opiates. 1u 1) Heightened Suggestibility: Mind Control 8d6 (Human class of minds); Cannot Achieve Results Greater Than EGO +10 (-1), Extra Time (5 Minutes, Only to Activate, -1), Concentration (0 DCV; Character is totally unaware of nearby events; -3/4), No Range (-1/2), Requires A Skill Roll-Hypnotist (Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 20 Active Points; -1/4), END 4 1u 2) Accessing Memories: Telepathy 10d6 (Human class of minds); Extra Time (5 Minutes, Only to Activate, -1), Concentration (0 DCV; -1/2), Incantations (Requires Incantations throughout; -1/2), Mandatory Effect EGO +20 (-1/2), No Range (-1/2), Requires A Skill Roll-Hypnotist (Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 20 Active Points; -1/4), END 5 1u 3) Planting False Memories: Major Transform 1d6+1 (20 Active Points); Extra Time (5 Minutes, -2), Concentration, Must Concentrate throughout use of Constant Power (0 DCV; -1), No Range (-1/2), Requires A Skill Roll-Hypnotist (Active Point penalty to Skill Roll is -1 per 20 Active Points; -1/4), END 2 Martial Art: Fencing Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 5 Lunge +1 -2 Weapon +4 DC Strike 4 Parry +2 +2 Block, Abort 4 Riposte +2 +2 Weapon +2 DC Strike, Must Follow Block 5 Slash -2 +1 Weapon +4 DC Strike 3 Trip +2 -1 3 1/2d6 Strike, Target Falls 0 Weapon Element: Blades Martial Arts: Street Brawling Maneuver OCV DCV Notes 4 Disarm -1 +1 Disarm; 23 STR to Disarm roll 4 Eye Gouge -1 -1 Flash 4d6 Notes: Throwing sand in the eyes. 4 Low Blow -1 +1 2d6 NND 2 Swift Of Foot: Running +1" (7" total), END 1 Perks 1 False Identity Notes: Burton usually spent 2-4 months preparing his ID, living in a safe area and developing various contacts who could give him letters of recommendation (and so on.) 8 Fringe Benefit: High-Ranking Member of the Foriegn Office 4 Fringe Benefit: Captain 0 Fringe Benefit: Member of the Lower Nobility Notes: Knighted at age 66, far too late to affect his years in the field. 3 Fringe Benefit: Priest Notes: Brahman Hindu Priest 3 Well-Connected 2 1) Contact: Assorted Central Indian tradesmen or priests, Organization Contact (x3) 8- Notes: Represents the many friends and associates Burton developed. 26 2) Contact: Foreign Office (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has useful Skills or resources), Organization Contact (x3) 15- 3 3) Contact: General Charles Napier (British Commander, India) (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own) 11- Notes: Burton worked directly for General Napier, bypassing the entire chain of command. 5 4) Contact: Royal Geographic Society (Contact has significant Contacts of his own), Organization Contact (x3) 8- Notes: The Royal Geographic Society became Burton's patron/employer for his explorations of the Nile and East Africa. This opened many contacts in upper British society for him. Talents 6 Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) Skills 6 +1 with HTH and Ranged Combat 5 +1 with HTH Combat 3 +1 with Fencing/Swords 10 +2 with DCV 16 +2 with all non-combat Skills 3 Explorer: +1 with Climbing, Navigation, Riding 5 Persuasive: +1 with Interaction Skills 3 Sneaky: +1 with Concealment, Shadowing, Stealth 3 Spy: +1 Conversation, Disguise, Persuasion 3 Acrobatics 13- 7 Acting 14- 1 Breakfall 8- 2 Bribery 10- 1 Bureaucratics 8- 3 Climbing 13- 3 Concealment 13- 1 Contortionist 8- 3 Conversation 12- 2 Cryptography 10- 3 Deduction 13- 2 Demolitions 10- 7 Disguise 15- 3 Fast Draw (HTH Only) 13- 2 Forgery (Documents) 13- Notes: Burton doesn't create forgeries himself, but is skilled in acquiring and evaluating them, as well as using authentic documents to support them and presenting them in a believable fashion in order to support his disguises. 1 Gambling 8- 3 High Society 12- Notes: Mostly affects Middle Eastern cultures. 1 Interrogation 8- 4 Navigation (Land) 14- 2 Oratory 10- 3 Paramedics 13- 3 Persuasion 12- 3 Riding 13- 5 Seduction 13- 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Sleight Of Hand 13- 3 Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 12- 10 Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Tropical, Desert, Mountain) 14- 2 TF: Riding Animals 1 Tactics 8- 3 Tracking 13- 3 Trading 12- 5 WF: Early Firearms, Blades, Lances, Staffs Notes: Includes assorted Indian HTH weapons 3 Jack of All Trades 2 1) PS: Artist 13- 4 2) PS: Explorer 15- 1 3) PS: Foreign Service Agent 11- 2 4) PS: Hypnotist 13- 2 5) PS: Military Officer 13- 2 6) PS: Writer 13- 3 Linguist Notes: Burton is reported to be fluent in 26 languages and know 89 dialects, and that was before he started learning languages in Arabia and Africa. 2 1) Language: Arabic (Eastern) (completely fluent) 1 2) Language: Arabic (Egyptian) (fluent conversation) 2 3) Language: Baluchi (completely fluent) 2 4) Language: Bengali (completely fluent) 0 5) Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 1 6) Language: Farsi (fluent conversation) 1 7) Language: French (fluent conversation) 1 8) Language: Ganda (basic conversation) Notes: African Lake Region language 1 9) Language: Greek (Modern) (basic conversation) 4 10) Language: Gujarati (imitate dialects) 4 11) Language: Hindi (imitate dialects) 1 12) Language: Italian (fluent conversation) 2 13) Language: Kachichi (completely fluent) 2 14) Language: Kurdish (completely fluent) 1 15) Language: Latin (basic conversation) 3 16) Language: Nepali (idiomatic) 1 17) Language: Pashto (fluent conversation) 1 18) Language: Portuguese (basic conversation) 3 19) Language: Punjabi (idiomatic) 1 20) Language: Romany (basic conversation) Notes: a.k.a. "Gypsy" 1 21) Language: Russian (basic conversation) Notes: Although there's no direct evidence that Burton learned Russian, part of his job was to travel into Afghanistan and interact with Russian explorers and traders (and spies) and learn what they were doing, so it seems likely he knew a little Russian. 1 22) Language: Sanskrit (basic conversation) 1 23) Language: Sindhi (basic conversation) 1 24) Language: Somali (basic conversation) 1 25) Language: Swahili (basic conversation) 1 26) Language: Turkana (basic conversation) Notes: African Lake Region language 1 27) Language: Turkish (fluent conversation) 3 Scholar 2 1) KS: African Tribal Religions 12- 5 2) KS: Eastern Mysticism 16- 2 3) KS: Falconry 12- 1 4) KS: Fencing 11- 3 5) KS: Hindu Religion And Customs 14- 2 6) KS: Islam 13- 2 7) KS: Narcotics And Opiates 13- 4 8) KS: The Karma Sutra and Sexual Techniques 15- 3 Traveler 2 1) AK: Afghanistan 13- 3 2) AK: Arabia/The Middle East 14- 2 3) AK: Eastern Africa 12- 1 4) AK: Egypt 11- 2 5) AK: Himalayan Mountains 12- 2 6) AK: India, Central 13- 4 7) AK: India, Northern 15- Notes: Includes Pakistan circa 1840s. 1 8) AK: Persia 11- 2 9) AK: Terrain, Desert 12- Notes: The AK: Terrain skills represent general knowledge of the environments in question and can be used as Complimentary Skills for the appropriate AKs, Cuks, and Survival Skills. 2 10) AK: Terrain, Jungle 12- 3 11) AK: Terrain, Mountains 14- 1 12) AK: Western Europe 11- 2 13) CK: Bombay 12- 2 14) CK: Cairo 12- 2 15) CK: Karachi 13- 3 16) CuK: Afghanistan Culture And Traditions 14- 3 17) CuK: Arabian/Middle Eastern Culture And Traditions 14- 2 18) CuK: East African Culture And Traditions 12- 2 19) CuK: Egyptian Culture And Traditions 12- 3 20) CuK: India, Central, Culture And Traditions 14- 5 21) CuK: India, Northern, Culture And Traditions 16- Notes: Includes Pakistan circa 1840s. 2 22) CuK: Persian Culture And Traditions 12- Total Powers & Skill Cost: 405 Total Cost: 519 75+ Disadvantages 5 Age: 40+ 0 Normal Characteristic Maxima 10 Physical Limitation: Frequently Ill With Various Tropical Aliments (Infrequently; Greatly Impairing) 10 Psychological Limitation: Alcohol And Drug Addict (Common; Moderate) 10 Psychological Limitation: Frequent Disregard For Military Protocol (Common; Moderate) 15 Psychological Limitation: Strongly Interested In The Occult And Other Religions (Common; Strong) 10 Psychological Limitation: Womanizer (Common; Moderate) 10 Reputation: "Gone native" and doesn't maintain proper military bearing, 11- (Extreme; Known Only To Fellow Officers) 5 Reputation: As a rake and womanizer, 11- (Known Only Fellow Officers) 5 Rivalry: Professional (other officers and agents who strongly resent his competence and success; Rival is As Powerful; Seek to Outdo, Embarrass, or Humiliate Rival; Rival Aware of Rivalry) 10 Social Limitation: Muslim Death Sentence For Entering Mecca (Occasionally; Severe; Not Limiting In Some Cultures) 354 Experience Points Total Disadvantage Points: 519
As HERO System 5th Edition transitions to 6th, I wanted to post this character. Discussion followed by template. This is probably more of a Victorian character then Pulp.
I wanted to see what the highest point real character I could reasonably justify to create would be. I was trying to only give skills that were supported by documentation and a skill levels that I could justify. For this I chose Captain Richard Burton. I will try to justify my assessment of Captain Burton’s skills below. I believe that the HERO System write-up for Miyamoto Musashi was 503 points. In this template of HB, he came out at exactly 473 points. I could probably try to get him higher, but that is how he came out with the references I have.
[I use/define the phrase WORLD CLASS to indicate one of the 5 best people in the world with a skill at his time, around 17- or 18- skill roll, I use the term Heroic for the level of skill around 15- or 16- skill roll. If you think the most skilled people in the world have rolls, better or worse then that target, then adjust accordingly]
Captain Sir Richard Francis “Ruffin Dick” Burton
(1821-1890)
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (March 19, 1821 - October 20, 1890) was a British explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguist, poet, hypnotist, fencer, and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia and Africa as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke twenty-nine European, Asian, and African languages.
Summary of Life
He was posted to India as an Infantry Lieutenant. He learned a lot about the culture. His reputation in skills allowed his as a Lieutenant to work directly for the British commander in India as an explorer, scout, spy and to a lesser degree diplomat. Working mostly in disguise, exploring the area that is now Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northern India during the “Great Game”. While still in the Army, he was “recruited” to work for the British Foreign Office. Based out of Egypt to explore and spy into what is now Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. His exploits got him recognized by the British Geologic Society and hired to explore east Africa (during the Stanley and Livingston period).
Longer History (incomplete)
Richard Burton was born in 1821, to an Army Lieutenant Colonel and his wife (an heiress). He was raised in France as a country gentleman (hunting, fencing, and so on). He had a typical but limited education, but showed an early aptitude for language, learning Latin at age 3, starting Greek at 4, while learning French, Italian, and other European languages. By the age of 9, he was an uncontrollable delinquent, sneaking out with his his father’s gun to shoot up monuments and church stained glass. Moving to England for a short while and attending English schools, he fought often, amd at one point he had scheduled 32 honor fights in one day during the breaks in classes, mostly against older boys. Traveling to Italy for a healthier climate, typical is this account at about age 15 in Naples:
And then there were the prostitutes in a house on the next street. The brothers signaled to one of the girls from their balcony and a party was planned. “With an abundance of pocket money … the orgy was tremendous and we were lucky to get home unhurt in the morning. … But Mrs. Burton discovered letters of “extreme debauchery” from the girls. The Colonel and their teacher tried to horsewhip the boys who took refuge on the roof until they were pardoned.
One useful skill he learned in his youth was art. It later helped him draw enemy positions and illustrate his books.
Young Burton’s father sent him to Oxford trying to steer him away from the military and towards a clerical life. That did not work.
Richard Burton spent 2 years at Oxford. His poor education put him behind his peers but his native intelligence allowed him to catch up. One of his tutors gets Richard started studying astrology, the Kabala and an interest in gypsies. This led to a life long interest in mysticism. Richard Burton was bored and disliked collage and arranged to get expelled. He convinced his father to let him join the military. A cloud from his fathers past prevented getting in the regular army, so he purchased a commission in the East India Company.
This section justifies the which skills I gave to Richard Burton and how skilled I think he was.
1) Linguistics
Captain Burton’s strongest field. He would be considered a WORLD CLASS Linguist in his day and one of the best in history. Burton is reported to be fluent in 26 languages and know 89 dialects, and that was before he went to and learned languages in Arabia or Africa. Some of his listed languages do not seem to match current languages (i.e. Hindustani vs Hindi). I currently give him 27 languages and he probably should have about 9 more Indian and southwestern Asian languages, but I am not sure which others to give him. I am completely guessing as to his African languages. [see Story 1 below].
2) Area Knowledges
Richard Burton is a WORLD CLASS explorer. First European in some areas of Afghanistan, and Arabia, explored Mecca in disguise. Discover of the African Great Lakes, that are source of the Nile (but he did not realize that), on pair with Stanley and Livingston. Probably knows more about Arabia then ANY European of his day.
3) Culture Knowledges
Captain Burton is listed as an orientalist and ethnologist. He learned the cultures of India so well that he could pull off almost ANY disguise of any kind of an individual. However, “going native” was considered fatal to his carrier by his military peers.
19 points divided into 6 areas.
4) Other Knowledges
Knowledge Skill Hindu Religion. By one reading of the story Richard Burton is the ONLY European to EVER be adopted (on merit) as a full member into the Brahman Hereditary Priest class on India. I would estimate that is prestige would place him above the level of a village priest, but below their equivalent of a Bishop.
Knowledge Skill Muslim Religion. He was studying to become a priest. [See Story 2].
Knowledge Skill African Tribal Religions.
Knowledge Skill Mysticism (Eastern).“Ordained” Brahma priest, studied to be a Muslim priest, studied Kabbala for years. Lifetime study of Occult.
Knowledge Skill Falconry. Author of several works on Falconry.
Knowledge Skill Sexual Techniques. His physical skills in seduction are probably heroic, but his study and interest in the field (author of Kama Sutra, Arabian Nights, etc., and highly active ethnologist field work) exceed even his practical experience and is close to WORLD CLASS for his day.
5) Combat Skills
I have seen one list that listed Richard Burton as one of the 10 best swordsmen of all times. [also included Robert the Bruce and Miyamoto Musashi] [See Story 4 below]
I have seen one list that listed Richard Burton as one of the 10 best swordsmen of all times. [also included Robert the Bruce and Miyamoto Musashi] [See Story 4 below]
Captain Burton fought many duels, mostly with cuckolded husbands. He also earned the name “Ruffian Dick” for his "demonic ferocity as a fighter and because he had fought in single combat more enemies than perhaps any other man of his time”. This seems to justify claiming Captain Burton is a WORLD CLASS swordsman. Note that Richard Burton’s many fights and duels seem to be quantity over quality. He had lots of fights, but no real mention of him fighting and beating a famous or skilled fighter. However, unlike the other great swordsmen, Captain Burton was not a full time fighter. I believe that his many other pursuits prevented him from having time to reach WORLD CLASS skill as a swordsman so I place him at the high end of Heroic.
I am not sure of his primary weapon. Before he joined the army he learned fencing in College and attended a fencing school. But his service sword would have been a cavalry saber, or in the later years the straight cavalry officer’s broadsword would have been the service weapon. But these would not have been good dueling swords, or practical in the jungle, or an Arab disguise. He used a scimitar in Arabia, and sometimes only traveled with a knife when in disguise for months on end. Because of this lack of weapon specialization, I did not give him any special martial arts (weapon) type skills.
5a) Captain Burton survived many duels and a couple of large fights [See story 4]. I am giving him 2 levels with DCV and Combat Luck to justify his few wounds.
5b) Gave Richard Burton Fast Draw with blades.
6) Exploration Skills
Captain Burton is a WORLD CLASS explorer. Since the HERO System does not have an explorer skill, I use the following set of skills to represent this: Climbing, KS: Terrain, Navigation, PS: Explorer, Riding, Survival, and Tracking. I did not think he was focused enough to raise any one of these singly to the world class level.
7) Espionage Skills
Captain Burton was a spy for the British Foreign Office throughout Central and Western Asia. He was not the best spy they had in over the 60 years of the Great Game, but probably the most versatile. Spying here represents traveling to mostly unknown areas, mapping them, meeting the tribes, and determining their factions and how to influence them. Also tracking the movements of the Russian agents and interfering with their actions. It is mostly exploring and diplomacy. He also needed to keep and send encrypted messages.
I am giving Richard Burton these skills to represent his broad heroic reputation as a spy: Bribery, Concealment, Conversation, Cryptography, Forgery, Interrogation, Oratory, Persuasion, PS: Spy, and Shadowing. I did not include Lockpicking and Security Systems as inappropriate.
Note that Burton’s spying exploits are mostly 2nd hand from his supervisor’s praise. He did not record his exploits in his journals (and considered them secret), and most of them can only be judged by the successful results.
8) Disguise Skills
Captain Burton was a master of disguise. He can pretend to be almost any Indian or Arab and natives cannot detect a flaw. He did disguise himself as a porter or vender on his own military base (in the Officer’s Club) and his own friends cannot recognize him when told them he would be there. His language and culture skills are covered under those areas. I am giving him Disguise, Acting, Conversation, Persuasion, Streetwise, and Trading, since he often used a traveling merchant as a disguise. He is probably WORLD CLASS in disguise but in the espionage field the experts don’t get enough publicity to compare him.
9) Cat Burglar
In his early years, Captain Burton developed a reputation as a rake for sneaking into bedroom windows of lonely wives and protected daughters. Although there were duels with cuckolded husbands, he was mostly successful. Also see Stories 2 and 3 below. As a spy he also did some 2nd story sneaking around hostile cities. Using Story 3, I am giving him heroic skills in this area. His climbing skills are already covered as a mountain explorer. Skills Acrobatics, Breakfall, Stealth
10) Seduction
Captain Burton, As with most teenage boys, shows a great interest in KS: Sexual Techniques that may exceed his practical skills in seduction itself. But Richard Burton’s actual skills include many wives and daughters visited in the night. The fact that none of the harem wives [story 3] reported him. I feel comfortable saying that his seduction skill is heroic. But his KS: Seduction skill exceeds his physical skills, up to WORLD CLASS. Although he did not write the Kama Sutra, he chose that as his major work of translation into English. He collected folklore throughout his travels in Arabia and assembled them into the 10 volume legends of the Arabian Nights that are mostly pornographic. As he explored what amounts to about 25% of the world’s people and cultures, his learning of their cultures also focused on their sexual practices. The only possible person that might compare to his knowledge on the subject might be one of the most famous geisha’s or French or Italian courtesans. Also used this to justify a slight skill in Contortionist. I only gave him a Seduction 15-, because his physical skills were not on par with his knowledge.
11) Military Service
Captain Burton had a troubled military service. He ended his distinguished career as a Captain; anyone else would be at least a Colonel. He contently made serious enemies (personnel and professional) of his peers, but the senior officers found his skills and accomplishments VERY useful. This applies to his relations with the Foreign Service as well. I am giving him minimum bureaucratic, and some tactics. I am notably not giving him any teamwork.
12) Mysticism
Captain Burton had a life long interest in Mysticism. Shown by his adoption into the Brahma Caste in India and his interests and reported skills with meditation and hypnosis.
13) Career
Richard Burton’s career roughly splits into 3 periods
a) As a Lieutenant in India playing the Great Game. At this time he was at his physical and fighting peak, but did not yet have his influence.
b) Exploring Arabia. He developed his Foreign Service contacts here. At his best in disguise here.
c) Exploring Africa. Past his prime in physical and fighting skills, (but see story 4). Fame allows him important contacts in some English circles.
14) Contacts
To justify Burton’s contacts with the British Foreign office. Several times Richard Burton would show up unexpectedly in disguise at a British consulate. Even disguised as a beggar, he could talk his way inside without blowing his cover. Several times he would show up unexpectedly, at a consulate and leave with a fortune to bribe a tribal king, or influence a war. He could also get any proper documents and any forgeries he needed with a visit. He could be unexpected, no one knew him and he was in disguise with no documents to prove his identity, and still accomplish these perks, without blowing his disguise cover. His exact status or position in the Foreign office has never been published.
[The British Foreign office is like the US State Department with some CIA mixed in]
15) Hypnosis
Richard Burton is supposed to be an expert at Hypnosis, but there is little information about this. He learned it in India, could amaze his fellow officers, and used it for parlor tricks back in England. I gave him the ‘Realistic’ Hypnosis from The Ultimate Mentalist. He used self-hypnosis as part of his preparation for some disguises. In addition there is one example of him slipping opiates in drink to help him hypnotize an important India businessman. Being an “Expert” he might be a little better then this.
16) Life Stories
A few stories used as examples to justify some of his skills.
Story 1
British officers can receive a pay bonus for being able to speak useful foreign languages. After Lieutenant Burton had studied both the common Indian languages and several of the related languages, he applied for the language bonuses. His unit did not have anyone that already knew the languages well enough to test his fluency. They applied to the Foreign Office to locate an expert to administer the test. His unit was told that the ONLY European in India that knew the languages well enough to administer the tests would be Richard Burton himself. [The only other reported time that is happened was when TH Lawrence (of Arabia) applied to learn his languages before Word War I.]
Story 2
The Foreign office asked Richard Burton to travel through Arabia (Saudi Arabia) and spy/learn what was going on there. After studying up on the language and culture, Richard Burton traveled in disguise throughout the region. Then he traveled to Mecca and Medina even though it was (and still is) a death sentence for a non-Muslim to go there. He explored the twin holy cities and passed as a Muslim pilgrim. Burton successfully traveled in Arabia for about a year in disguise the whole time.
Story 3 [Continuing story 2]
While he was disguised in Mecca. He decided to sneak into the harem of the Pasha inside the fortress. He successfully go into the well guarded and secure harem, spent the night with wives (probably not sleeping), undetected (at least by the guards) and got out without raising the alarm.
(This story may be an exaggeration. I found it is 2 places, a third had it happening in Damascus, and my best Biography does not mention it)
Story 4
Captain Burton and another explorer were sleeping alone along a river bank in hostile East Africa. 200+ natives attacked at night with surprise. The two explorers woke up in their tent, grabbed their weapons and fought back. Captain Burton’s friend was injured; Richard Burton took a Javelin though both his cheeks (the only combat injury I find mention of in all his years of fighting). Richard Burton assisted/carried his friend (with 11 wounds) in a fighting retreat to their canoe and they got away. When Captain Burton returned the next day (with witnesses) there were 26 dead natives. Native stories confirm the number of attackers and put the number of wounded natives in the 60’s. (Richard Burton is in his forties and past his physical and fighting prime at this time.)
Richard Burton has some representation in fiction. His friend Kipling was suppose to have used Richard Burton to model the Colonel in Kim. Also some of his stories helped Kipling in The Man who would be King . Also a character in Riverworld by Farmer.
Captain Sir Richard Burton's Hero Designer File
[Captain Sir Richard Burton was a real person, write-up by Marc Elwinger, edited by Michael Surbrook]
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