Charon (Fallout 3)

Charon is a possible ghoul companion NPC in Fallout 3. Brainwashed as a child he is blindly loyal to the holder of his contract.

He resides in the Underworld as a bouncer in The Ninth Circle. His contract can be bought from Ahzrukhal for 2000 caps (1000 caps if your barter skill is 50 or higher). Alternatively, you can also retrieve his contract from his employer, by killing Greta in Carol's Place. Either way he will loyally follow you. His very first act as your new employee will be to have a "chat" with his former employer.

He is also the only NPC (along with Dogmeat) who can join you regardless of your karma.

During the final mission, Charon will follow you and you can ask him to enter the control chamber of Project Purity. He will decline however, stating something to the effect of "Haven't I saved your ass enough times already? Not this time."

Equipment
By default he uses his unique weapon, Charon's Shotgun, which has infinite ammo as well as infinite durability. Like default weapons for other NPCs, this shotgun cannot be traded.

Compared to the standard Combat Shotgun, Charon's Shotgun has MUCH higher accuracy and longer range with smaller magazine size (5 instead of 12). Generally speaking, Charon's shotgun outclasses any other shotguns in game.

Despite the fact that its look is identical to standard combat shotgun, Charon's shotgun is a pump action type shotgun. Charon pumps his shotgun while firing. If you give him a standard combat shotgun and ammo, he will use it and not pump it. New weapons given to him do not have unlimited ammo/durability, so you will have to resupply him with ammo. He seems to prefer small guns over big guns and will use energy weapons if supplied with armor that boosts his skill (Tesla Armor mostly).

You can equip him with new armor which he will happily wear. He knows how to use Power Armor even if you do not. If you managed to acquire a suit of power armor early on but are unable to equip it yourself, give it to Charon.

Any armor given to him does not appear to degrade with usage.

Total carrying capacity: WG 183.5

Combat
Charon seems to fearlessly confront any possible enemies. His perception is very good because he normally says something if enemies are approaching and you have not noticed. Normally he attacks from mid-range with his Shotgun. He is incredibly accurate with his unique shotgun. There seems to be little to no spread when he fires, enabling him to hit targets at medium range with it. He sometimes randomly runs around and ducks for cover.

Charon rarely uses melee weapons and prefers guns for combat. He is very resilient and is able to take a lot of damage before dying. Most enemies are usually no problem for him to deal with unless its a larger group of Deathclaws or Enclave soldiers. Due to Charon aiming for the torso instead of the face, Mirelurks can also kill him if the player does not assist.

When sneaking or searching, he may draw his combat knife.


 * There is a trick to make Charon reload without time delay. Simply talk to him when fighting, ask for trade or just close the dialog.

Dialogue
"Talk. To. Ahzrukhal." -- when the player attempts to make conversion with Charon before getting the contract.

"What's the matter, can't stand the sight of your own blood?" -- when engaging enemies in combat.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are ..." -- random combat dialogue.

"Better him than me." -- random end-of-combat dialogue.

Trivia

 * Charon is most likely a take on the ferryman of the dead, Charon, of Greek Mythology, because he is in the "underworld". Charon is also the name of the ferryman of the river Acheron in Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy", the name being a reference to the bar the character appears in titled "The Ninth Circle", as in Dante's "Inferno" Hell contains nine circles. Charon is also the name of the moon that orbits the (dwarf) planet Pluto.

Bugs

 * Charon can disappear after the the rescue mission Project Purity. He is located in the tunnels. Go to the Citadel and there is a sewage grate on the ground outside the Citadel near the river. Back track the exact route you took to rescue the NPCs.


 * On the PC, XBOX 360 and PS 3 Charon will sometimes get stuck and fail to kill Ahzrukhal and thus not follow the player. So make sure to save before you buy his contract. If Ahzrukhal is not tending the bar when you buy his contract, Charon will get stuck trying to confront him.  Wait until Ahzrukhal is awake and behind the bar to buy the contract. Sometimes it also happens that Charon gets stuck after killing Ahzrukhal and stands still beside his corpse.


 * A minor bug: when Charon spots an enemy at extreme range, he sometimes pulls his combat knife at the same time he gives his vocal cue (what he says seems to be random, but you can always hear the little "shing" sound of him drawing the knife out of it's scabbard), and it takes him a while to switch to something more appropriate. This seems to happen more in the Wastes, maybe because of longer encounter distances.  He does this even when equipped with more powerful melee weapons.  It also seems to be hit-or-miss regarding whether or not he'll pull out the Ripper for close combat when appropriate even if it's the best melee weapon he has, although he seems to love Shishkebobs and goes to that if he's carrying one.