Charon (Fallout 3)

Charon is a possible ghoul companion NPC in Fallout 3.

Background
Charon resides in the Underworld as a bouncer in The Ninth Circle. The player can purchase his contract for 2,000 caps from Ahzrukhal, or, with a Barter skill of 50 or more, for 1,000 caps. It is also possible to receive Charon's contract for free by completing the unmarked quest Hired Help.

He is noticeably larger than other human or ghoul characters, standing a full head taller than a normal NPC. Brainwashed as a child, he is blindly loyal to the holder of his contract.

Charon is the only NPC (along with Dogmeat) who will join the player regardless of karma. His very first act as your new employee will be to have a "chat" with his former employer, ending with Charon blasting Ahzrukhal's head off.

Daily schedule
At The Ninth Circle, he is the bouncer. He stands in the corner until needed.

Related quests
In Vault 87 you can request Charon to retrieve the Garden of Eden Creation Kit for you. The radiation is not a problem for him. If you already have Fawkes going to get it for you, he will decline, stating that the task is not part of his contract. Once the player is whisked away by Colonel Autumn to Raven Rock, Charon will be waiting in Underworld.

With Broken Steel installed, Charon can be ordered to activate the purifier.

Effects of player actions
After acquiring his contract, he will become a follower.

Notable quotes

 * "Talk. To. Ahzrukhal."
 * "Physical violence on your part invalidates our contract."
 * "You are my commander, and I will do as you say."
 * "For good or for ill, I follow you."

Appearances
only appears in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * In Greek mythology, Charon was the ferryman of Hades who carried souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron, which divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.
 * Charon tells you that he "Finds happiness in a warm gun" - an allusion to the Beatles song "Happiness is a Warm Gun."

Bugs

 * When buying Charons contract from Ahzrukhal a bug can occur during their interaction that leaves one or both of them unable to respond to the player (i.e. Charon will not follow you and/or Ahzrukhal will not talk to you). (Confimed on all platforms.) An update for the Xbox 360 version fixes this issue and it can be solved on the PC by using the in-game console command "resurrect" to reset the problematic NPC(s). This bug may happen on updated Xbox 360's if Ahzrukhal is asleep. When Charon goes to wake him Ahzrukal will say his first line of dialog, Charon will stay in place and Ahzrukhal goes to the area he is in originally when you walk in during the day. Both NPC's will not respond to the player afterwards and Ahzrukhal may be un-targetable in V.A.T.S.
 * Randomly dies if you enter the Outcast base in Operation: Anchorage.
 * Sometimes after firing Charon, he will not appear in the Ninth Circle and will disappear altogether.
 * If you revisit Vault 87 after the main quest there is complete, when getting to the labs near the G.E.C.K chamber Charon may randomly die in the hallway. Reloading an earlier save seems to fix this. Also, he may randomly teleport to the same spot in the hallway if you told him to wait elsewhere on the map. If you talk to him and tell him to follow you, he will follow you normally and not die. This happens often when using Fawkes and Charon as followers from the 'fast travel from Raven Rock' exploit, though this glitch only seems to effect Charon.
 * Sometimes after firing Charon, he will attack you. If you attempt to speak to him he will use his default, "Physical violence on your part invalidates our contract." line even if you did not previously assault him.