Charon (Fallout 3)

Charon is a possible companion and the ghoul bouncer of The Ninth Circle in 2277.

Background
Charon is Ahzrukhal's personal bodyguard and soldier. He's quiet and scary. Every couple of days, Ahzrukhal sends Charon out to run some kind of errand. He always leaves packed with weaponry, and returns with a bag of Caps. He's loyal to Ahzrukhal beyond question, and will do whatever his employer orders. Charon never sleeps - a strange trait even for a ghoul - and when he's in Underworld, he hangs out in the bar. There are rumors that he is unhappy with his position but can't leave Ahzrukhal's employ.

Although little is said about Charon's past, Ahzrukhal will tell you that he was raised by a group of people who brainwashed him into obeying whomever has his contract. Ahzrukhal insists that he isn't a slave, and implies that Charon did something in the past to deserve his "employment" with Ahzrukhal. While the terms of the contract are never shown, if you ask Charon to retrieve the G.E.C.K. in Vault 87, he says that he's only good for combat services, and that he's "nobody's errand boy."

Daily schedule
At The Ninth Circle, he is the bouncer. He stands in the corner until needed. If fired by the player, he'll return there and sit in a nearby chair.

Quests

 * Hired Help: You can receive Charon's contract for free by killing Greta for Ahzrukhal, or by paying a large amount of caps.
 * Take it Back!: With Broken Steel installed, Charon can be ordered to activate the purifier, despite his previous refusal to retrieve the G.E.C.K. in Vault 87.

Effects of player's actions

 * You can purchase his contract for 2,000 caps from Ahzrukhal, or, with a Barter skill of 50 or more, for 1,000 caps. After acquiring his contract, he will become a companion. His very first act as your new employee will be to have a "chat" with his former employer. You won't get your caps back after their "conversation".
 * Charon follows a personal moral path. Stealing in Underworld results in him attacking the player. If you kill a good non-player character in Charon's presence, Charon will become upset and, if subsequently fired, become hostile.

Notable quotes

 * "Physical violence on your part invalidates our contract."
 * "You are my employer, and I will do as you command."
 * "And now, for good or ill, I serve you."
 * "You purchased my contract from Ahzrukhal? So, I am no longer in his service. That is good to know. Please, wait here. I must take care of something."
 * "Talk. To. Azrukhal."

Appearances
Charon appears only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * In Greek mythology, Charon (or Kharon) is 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 will occasionally remark that he finds happiness in a warm gun, alluding to a song called 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' by The Beatles.

Bugs

 * When buying Charon's 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). This bug may happen if Ahzrukhal is asleep. When Charon goes to wake him, Ahzrukhal will say his first line of dialog and Charon will stay in place. Ahzrukhal will then go to the area he is in originally when you walk in during the day. It can be solved on the PC by using the in-game console command "resurrect" to reset the problematic non-player characters. On the Xbox 360 this bug can sometimes be solved by exiting and re-entering the game.
 * If you hire Charon as a follower, he may not follow you through the concourse but will appear again outside the museum entrance.
 * Sometimes Charon will not follow you outside of underworld but will still appear outside of the Museum of History. (no patch for this glitch)
 * Charon may not be able to leave the Ninth Circle, even into Underworld.
 * If you equip Charon with only the Chinese stealth armor and leave the dialogue, he will equip it and be able to become cloaked. If while cloaked you talk to him and give him power armor (possible any armor) while he is cloaked and leave the trade equipment screen, he will put the power armor on and still be able to sneak allowing you to grab the now unequipped Chinese stealth armor and wear the Chinese stealth armor yourself.
 * Sometimes, after he is hired, when you ask him to follow you he will say a random line and it will show that you need neutral Karma to hire him.
 * At times, he may shoot dead bodies the same way he shoots Ahzrukhal.
 * If fired he may become stuck on something while walking and be unable to return to the Ninth Circle.