Huang Fu Haldeth

> *"How's my little nephew doing? Got yourself a **boyfriend** yet, Mariss?"* (Huang Fu Haldeth to Mariss D'Marothek, session 15)
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**Huang Fu Haldeth** (pronounced /huɑːŋ fu hɑːl-dɛθ/ *HOOAHNG FOO HAHL-dehth*) is a yuan-ti pureblood sailor, merchant and swordsman. He is Mariss D'Marothek's uncle and occasionally stops by in Waterdeep to drop off fresh fruit for his nephew and check up on him from time to time.

## **Description**

Huang Fu Haldeth is a yuan-ti pureblood that stands at around 6 foot 1 inches (185 centimeters) tall and weighs around 157 pounds (71.2 kilograms). He has brown skin, a handsome, yet soft, face and a flat nose. Like most yuan-ti, he has snake scales on his face; as typical of the Haldeth clan, they are red and black like a coral snake. He has long, thick, straight black hair that he lets hang loose around his face and golden, reptilian eyes that glint in the light. He has a thin mustache and a goatee that he keeps meticulously trimmed. He is slightly thin, but wiry and athletic, and has a build trained from years of swordfighting and sailing.

Huang Fu wears different things depending on where he is. When he is at his home city of Port Nyanzaru, he dresses typical to the customs of his city and his family. His go-to outfit is a black cheongsam and tan pants worn with a red sash belt, gold and red overcoat and many golden accessories hanging off of his body in the form of jewelry, buttons, cufflinks and belts. While in Waterdeep, however, he tends to dress to assimilate with the local culture. His go-to outfit in Waterdeep is a white dress-shirt with a cravat, a grey vest, black dress pants, a red overcoat with golden buttons and a pair of nice black dress shoes. His varying styles of dress show his desire to blend in wherever he goes to make himself more hospitable to those he sells to.

## **Personality**

Huang Fu, first and foremost, is a kind, sociable and empathetic man who most can get along with. He's a good talker and uses his gift of gab to brighten people's days and bond with them. He also uses this gift of gab in other pursuits; namely, flirting with those who have interest in him. He's known as the "Haldeth Heartbreaker" in Port Nyanzaru, not unkindly, for his romantic streak and his many flings, which are the talk of the town. Regardless of his flirtations, Huang Fu is polite and knows where his boundaries are, and he's generally well-liked.

Huang Fu, like Mariss, can be quite snarky and sassy. He and Mariss have a history of battles of verbal wits. Despite this, Huang Fu's verbal jabs usually have no venom behind them, and he knows not to punch down.

Huang Fu, however, does not lack gravitas. Huang Fu is a methodical and practiced martial artist and can hold his composure when needed. He gives things the severity and seriousness they need, and when backed into a corner, will never back down, even at the threat of death.

Huang Fu is family-oriented and values his family first and foremost. He took in Mariss without a second thought when Mariss was homeless, and grieved severely over his sister Najhia's death, regretting that he never got in contact with her in time to possibly save her life.

## **Abilities**

### Yuan-ti Pureblood

As a yuan-ti pureblood, Huang Fu Haldeth has a few innate abilities that have been passed down from yuan-ti to yuan-ti for generations. Like other yuan-ti, Huang Fu is able to adjust his eyesight to see in the dark, and he is immune to poison. He is also magically adept like some of his peers; he has a resistance to magic, and can innately cast spells such as *poison spray, animal friendship* and *suggestion.* However, this magic is limited, and his abilities as a martial artist are far more honed.

### Gift of Gab

Huang Fu uses his natural charisma and noble upbringing as a weapon in social confrontations. His charisma is the backbone of his trade dealings, with Huang Fu relying sometimes entirely on his charisma for his trade deals to go off without a hitch. His leadership skills also is the driving force behind his ships sailing smoothly and his crew following his orders.

### Martial Arts

Huang Fu, like his father, is adept at swordwork and martial arts. His father Jian taught him everything he knew and then some, and armed with his family heirloom weapon, the *Haldeth Miaodao,* a longsword of Shou Lung make, he is a force to be reckoned with. Huang Fu is proficient both with his kicks (a type of unarmed strike) and his longsword, and together in tandem they make a deadly and polished combination. He also is adept with multiple other types of weaponry, including the crossbow and harpoon. He has had over a decade to hone his skills, and he won't be bested by just anyone.

## **Possessions**

Huang Fu has a fleet of ships that he commandeers. He typically has mantle over five: *Viper, Golden Whisper, Dragon Turtle, Mango Maiden* and *Najhia's Heart. Mango Maiden* was his first ship, and *Najhia's Heart* is the most recent acquisition. *Mango Maiden* is his smallest ship, and has brightly-colored yellow and orange sails. *Viper* is a warship. *Najhia's Heart* was named after his deceased sister Najhia and always has one black sail that always flies in her honor. *Dragon Turtle* is his largest ship. These are not his only ships, of course, but those five are his pride and joy.

Huang Fu's most prized possession is a sword he inherited from his father, the *Haldeth Miaodao.* It is a longsword of Shou Lung make with a golden handguard and rubies encrusted on the handguard and hilt. This magical longsword does poison damage with each hit it makes.

Huang Fu has a drawing that Mariss made when he was small. He collected it from the old D'Marothek house after Najhia died, as her husband Shulssu D'Marothek saw it as garbage and left it behind. It is of a sheep.

## **History**

Huang Fu was born in 1454 to Jian Haldeth, a yuan-ti pureblood, and Chuil Haldeth, his human wife, in Port Nyanzaru in Chult. He had two older sisters; his eldest sister, Sselu, is still alive, but his second sister Najhia has since passed away. He has one younger brother, Kwalu. Bright and intelligent from a young age, Jian's third child showed a lot of promise, and as Huang Fu grew up, Jian decided to teach his son the martial arts that he had been adept at in his youth. Huang Fu was taught both in academics and in Jian's martial arts as he grew, and became a studious and adept adult.

When Huang Fu was 13, his eldest sister Sselu got married to a human named Harim Gebrendi, and when he was 14, she had her first son Shaiming. When he was 15, his sister Najhia got married in the summer to Shulssu D'Marothek and became pregnant with her first child. His father Jian also bought him his first ship, which he named *Mango Maiden.* He returned home from his premiere voyage just in time for a devastating storm to bear down on Port Nyanzaru that following March, a mere month after he turned 16. On March 14th, 1470, Huang Fu's nephew Mariss was born. Huang Fu's celebrations were short lived, however, as the storm had torn up the *Mango Maiden'*s sails and he had to spend the weekend repairing them. Huang Fu soon learned to adore his little nephews, and his niece when his sister had her second child Issi 4 years later in 1474. He particularly took a shine to Mariss, who was an excitable yet reserved child who seemed to make the sun literally glow brighter when he saw his favorite uncle. Huang Fu spoiled his nieces and nephews and discovered the idea of being a father paled in comparison to being the cool uncle to his sisters' kids. He was a major part of his nephews and niece's lives, and was later privvy to the discovery that Mariss was a storm sorcerer.

Huang Fu became very renowned in his adult life, and he used his martial abilities and ship commandeering for several tasks. Initially, Huang Fu used the *Mango Maiden* (and his eventual second ship, *Viper*) as guardships for the Port Nyanzaru city guard. He did this until he was around 22 before focusing more on his mercantile pursuits. He also eventually became an information broker for the Ytepka Society, the hidden defenders of Port Nyanzaru, and helped them with their current objective: independence from Amn. The Ytepkas saw this come to fruition in 1489 when the Merchant Princes were instated as the city-state's government and Port Nyanzaru became sovereign.

Tragedy struck in 1488 when, in August of that year, Huang Fu's now adult nephew Mariss appeared on his doorstep, hungry and homeless. For around a month prior, the Haldeth Clan heard not hide nor tail of Mariss, Najhia or Shulssu, and everyone in the clan feared the worst when they came to the D'Marothek home and found it empty, unlocked and foreclosed. This was the first time in quite a while that anyone had seen any member of the little family, and here was Mariss, wearing street rags and looking like he'd seen a ghost. Mariss quietly explained through tear-filled words that Najhia had taken ill suddenly with sewer plague, and when Shulssu was expected to financially provide for medicine or healing for his ailing mother, he took off in the night with all of their valuables (including an extremely dangerous poison called Haldeth's Sleeping Death that was a family heirloom previously owned by Najhia and Jian) and never returned, leaving Mariss and Najhia broke and homeless. Without any money to pay for treatment, Najhia's condition worsened until eventually, at the end of July, she died. Mariss had to bury her body in the refuse pit outside the city on his own before he, too, caught sewer plague. Mariss was fresh out of money and had nowhere to live, and Huang Fu, unable to say no to his nephew and shocked and saddened by Najhia's death and Shulssu's betrayal, took the young adult in and allowed him to live with him.

> *"Khali... she's dead. I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. Please don't be mad at me."* (Mariss, age 18, to Huang Fu as he told him that his mother had passed.)
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It became increasingly obvious to Huang Fu, however, that something had changed in his nephew. The most glaringly obvious change was that Mariss would disappear for hours or even days at a time and return only to buy Huang Fu expensive dinners and even offer to help pay his property tax. Mariss was notably tight-lipped about where he got his money, but Huang Fu's contacts and his responsibilities to the Ytepkas gave him the answer: Mariss was working as a courtesan, selling his body and time for gold. Huang Fu worried for his nephew, particularly over the extremely risky job he was undertaking. Another notable change was that Mariss, once negligent to fully get into his sorcery, was frequently exercising his abilities to vent and was seemingly attempting to practice his magic. Finally, Mariss, once a kind and polite boy, was rude, callous and seemingly dangerous, and where he was once open and honest, was now deceitful and guarded. This change from the kind, quiet person that Huang Fu knew to a venomous and aggressive person shocked and worried him, and made him resent Shulssu D'Marothek for the first time in his life.

After about six months of living with Huang Fu, Mariss informed his uncle that he had bought a property of his own. Huang Fu helped his nephew move into his seaside property in the spring of that year. Mariss contacted him alarmingly infrequently until December of 1491, when Mariss asked of him an odd request: to take him by boat to the Sword Coast, to the city of Baldur's Gate. Mariss told his uncle that he was "seeking a vacation", but the way Mariss said it made Huang Fu feel like it wasn't the entire truth. Still, Huang Fu escorted his nephew up to Baldur's Gate, and left Mariss fondly up in the city.

In July of 1492, Mariss sent Huang Fu a note via a paper crane that had been enchanted to fly to its intended recipient and unfold in front of them. He asked his uncle to bring as much tropical fruit as he could manage to Waterdeep, and he'd pay bulk price. Huang Fu loaded up the *Mango Maiden* and the *Dragon Turtle* with as much fruit as he could manage, and met his nephew at the property that he'd come to own, the Awning Portal. Mariss explained to his uncle that he had plans to open a business in the city, and his friends had decided on it being a tavern/juice bar. Huang Fu helped his nephew carry fruit inside and attended the grand opening of the Awning Portal, before sleeping in the third floor second bedroom and returning to Port Nyanzaru the following morning.

## **Relationships**

### Mariss D'Marothek

Huang Fu and his nephew are extremely close, and have been especially so since the passing of Mariss's mother Najhia. When Mariss was a child, Huang Fu was like a surrogate father to both Mariss and his cousins, and Mariss adored spending time with "khali Huang Fu". Huang Fu adored his little nephew and spoiled him rotten. As an adult, Mariss considered Huang Fu to be his primary caretaker and closest confidant, and although Mariss wasn't always honest with him, he still trusted his uncle and went to him first and foremost when something was wrong. Huang Fu cares for and worries about his nephew and wants to see him thrive.

### Sselu Gebrendi and Kwalu Haldeth

Huang Fu always cared about and loved his siblings. Huang Fu looked up to his older sister Sselu in particular, seeing headstrong and hardworking Sselu as a role model to idolize and be just like. Huang Fu is on very good terms with his sister and brother and would drop everything to help them.

### Najhia Haldeth D'Marothek

Like Sselu and Kwalu, Huang Fu loved his sister Najhia to bits. Najhia always wanted Huang Fu to be a part of Mariss's life, and made sure that he had the opportunities to get to know and care for his nephew. Huang Fu was unintentionally a support system to Najhia and Mariss, especially when Shulssu would take long trips, leaving Najhia alone with the sole responsibility of caring for Mariss. When Najhia just couldn't do everything, he'd take Mariss on fun trips around the harbor and show him the sailing ships and the Grand Souk. Najhia's death was soul-crushing to Huang Fu, and he still misses his sister dearly.

### Jian Haldeth

Although Jian doesn't explicitly say it, Huang Fu was the most promising of his children in terms of intelligence, and as such, Jian decided Huang Fu would be best suited to learn his old martial arts. He was right; Huang Fu used these skills to defend Port Nyanzaru and his fleets of ships from would-be pirates and pillagers. Huang Fu deeply respects his father for the things he has taught him and the comfortable life that he granted him, and loves his father dearly.

## **Appendixes**

### **Gallery**

The Haldeth Clan lineage.The Haldeth Clan.Huang Fu and his nephew, Mariss.A drawing Mariss made of a "sheep" that Huang Fu has.