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You purchased my contract from Ahzrukhal? So, I am no longer in his service. That is good to know.

Charon is a ghoul residing in Underworld in the Capital Wasteland in Fallout 3. He is a possible companion of the Lone Wanderer.

Background[]

Very little of Charon's past before becoming the bouncer of the Ninth Circle in Underworld is revealed during the game. Ahzrukhal will tell the Lone Wanderer that Charon was raised by an unspecified group who brainwashed him into being completely loyal and obedient to whoever has his contract.[1] Despite the logical unfairness of their arrangement, Ahzrukhal will firmly state that Charon is not a slave, even implying that Charon did something in the past to deserve his "employment" with Ahzrukhal.[2] While the exact terms of the contract are never shown, if Charon is an active companion when looking for the G.E.C.K. in Vault 87, and one asks him to enter the irradiated chamber to retrieve it, he says that his contract only obligates him to provide combat services and that he is "nobody's errand boy."[3]

Daily schedule[]

As the Ninth Circle's bouncer. Charon stands in the corner until needed. If recruited as a companion, then later dismissed by the Lone Wanderer, he will return there and sit in a nearby chair.

Interactions with the player character[]

Interactions overview[]

Interactions
Paving the Way
This character is a permanent companion.
FO76 ui icon quest
This character is involved in quests.

Quests[]

  • Hired Help: After asking about gaining Charon's services, Ahzrukhal offers to give his contact for free if the Lone Wanderer kills Greta, or by paying a large amount of caps. Either way the contract is obtained, after talking to him to confirm his allegiance, Charon will approach Ahzrukhal and murder him in cold blood as revenge for all the dirty work he made him do.
  • Take it Back!: With Broken Steel installed, if Charon is an active companion when entering the Jefferson Memorial, he will agree to activate Project Purity if asked to, preventing the Lone Wanderer or Sarah Lyons from doing so.

Effects of player's actions[]

  • The player character can obtain Charon's contract by paying Ahzrukhal 2,000 caps, or 1,000 with 50 Barter, or by agreeing to kill Greta. Acquiring Charon's contract makes him a potential companion. Once he is no longer bound by honor to serve Ahzrukhal, Charon will kill him.
  • Even though hiring him has no Karma requirements, Charon follows a personal moral path. Stealing in Underworld turns him hostile. If the Lone Wanderer kills a good non-player character in Charon's presence, Charon will become upset and, if subsequently fired, turn hostile.

Inventory[]

Notes[]

  • When his contract is purchased, Charon says he must "chat" with his former employer. Afterward, he walks to the bar, speaks briefly to Ahzrukhal, then shoots and kills him. If questioned about it, Charon replies, "Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard."[4]
  • If the player attacks Charon as he pulls out his shotgun to kill Ahzrukhal, Charon will turn on the player character instead, instantly killing them. Attacking Charon at this time is still seen as an act of aggression and will turn the Underworld NPCs hostile. However, attacking Charon after he kills Ahzrukhal will not turn anyone hostile.
  • He will always fire two shots with his unique shotgun when killing Ahzrukhal, even though his former employer dies immediately from the first shot.
  • Charon can be recruited as a companion regardless of Karma.
  • Charon's employment contract in the Pip-Boy reads, "Note - A piece of paper with some writing on it."
  • Charon is taller than the Lone Wanderer and most human/ghoul non-player characters with a height modifier of 1.11.
  • Charon is able to enter Tenpenny Tower with the Lone Wanderer even before completing the associated quest.
  • Charon is the only companion competent with explosives. If given standard grenades, he will effectively use them when enemies are taking cover, in order to flush them out.
  • If Charon is provoked and you try to talk to him, he says, "physical violence invalidates our contract."
  • He is one of the 3 companions that can be sent into the Jefferson Memorial rotunda to activate the purifier if Broken Steel is installed, along with Fawkes and Sergeant RL-3. He begrudgingly goes in after the Lone Wanderer states that he has to do whatever they say according to the contract.[5] However, even with Broken Steel, he will still refuse to retrieve the G.E.C.K. from Vault 87.

Notable quotes[]

Appearances[]

Charon appears in Fallout 3 and Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Charon was written by quest designer Erik J. Caponi.[6]
  • In Greek mythology, Charon (or Kharon) is the immortal ferryman who carried souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron, which divided the world of the living from the Underworld, the world of the dead.
  • When having Charon switch from melee combat to ranged weapons, he will make a remark referencing the song "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" by The Beatles.[7]

Bugs[]

  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 For some players, after Charon shoots Ahzrukhal, Charon may automatically become your follower, even if you already have a follower with you (including if Dogmeat has also been hired). [verified]
  • PCPC Charon cannot be recruited if Ahzrukhal is killed before his quest is completed, as Charon's contract can only be obtained through completion of the quest. Charon will simply tell the Wanderer to talk to Ahzrukhal, even if Ahzrukhal is dead. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you hire Charon as a follower, he may not follow you through the concourse but will appear again outside the museum entrance. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 Sometimes, Charon will not follow you outside of Underworld but will still appear outside of the Museum of History. This can be fixed by saving outside of Underworld then loading the save game and he will appear. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Charon may not be able to leave the Ninth Circle, even into Underworld. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 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 (possibly 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. [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 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 dialogue 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. [verified]
    • This bug can be avoided altogether by simply waiting for Ahzrukhal to wake up before telling Charon you now own his contract.
    • To fix the bug, just type in the console "select Charon", type "disable" then "enable". Charon should continue to kill Ahzrukhal.
  • PCPC Xbox 360Xbox 360 At times, he may shoot dead bodies the same way he shoots Ahzrukhal. [verified]
  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If fired, he may become stuck on something while walking and be unable to return to the Ninth Circle. [verified]
  • PCPC If Charon is equipped with a power helmet, his dialogue options 'cut out' due to a bug related to the sound files of Charon's voice and the voice modulation of the power helmet (requires further confirmation for Xbox 360). [verified]
  • PCPC Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 Xbox 360Xbox 360 If Charon dies when he is still under the contract, you cannot fire him or drop his contract from your inventory, this result makes the player permanently unable to acquire a human companion. This bug can be fixed by loading an auto-save/save file or using the console to remove his contract. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 If you enter the Outcast Base from Operation: Anchorage, Charon will disappear and not come back. The game will still act as if he is still in your party, so you cannot get another companion. A fix to this is to fast travel to Underworld, wait for 24 hours, then fast travel back to the Outcast Base. Charon will be outside the lift and act as if he was told to wait. Simply talk to him and tell him, "Let's go" to get him to follow again. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Taking shotgun shells out of his inventory can cause it to seem as if his shotgun has disappeared. As his shotgun ammo constantly fills back up as he fires, sometimes 2 shotguns will appear in his inventory, one damaged and the other in perfect condition, which is his personal shotgun. Do not remove it from his inventory except in the case of giving him the Terrible Shotgun. [verified]
  • Xbox 360Xbox 360 Before entering the Tranquility Lane pod, if one has Dogmeat and Charon in their party, they will receive a message saying something about Dogmeat returning to Vault 101. However, they do not receive a message for Charon. This creates a bug that possibly makes Charon disappear. One solution, if The Pitt add-on is owned, is to travel to the Pitt itself, where a message stating that Charon has gone back to the Ninth Circle will display. This should fix the problem and reset Charon.[verified]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. The Lone Wanderer: "He's a loyal employee? What do you mean?"
    Ahzrukhal: "I hold his contract, which makes me his employer. He will do what I ask when I ask, without question. You see, Charon grew up around a very interesting group of individuals. They... well, I guess you could say that they brainwashed him. He is absolutely loyal to whomever holds his contract. Unfailing, unflinching, until the day that employment ends. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that he holds no end of animosity towards me. But so long as he is my employee, he is as gentle as a teddy bear."
    (Ahzrukhal's dialogue)
  2. The Lone Wanderer: "So he's your slave?"
    Ahzrukhal: "No, he is not. Sir/Ma'am, you insult me. I do not believe in slavery. It is an abomination. I am a firm believer in personal choice. To force another person into bondage is unthinkable. Chains are earned, never forced. Charon made some choices that landed him in my employ. The matters of our contract is between him and I no one else."
    (Ahzrukhal's dialogue)
  3. The Lone Wanderer: "Charon, you think you could retrieve the G.E.C.K. for me?"
    Charon: "The contract entitles you to my services in combat. I'm nobody's errand boy. I'm afraid you'll have to get it yourself."
    (Charon's dialogue)
  4. The Lone Wanderer: "Whoa! What the fuck was that?"
    Charon: "Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard. So long as he held my contract, I was honor bound to do as he commanded. But now you are my employer, which freed me to rid the world of that disgusting rat. And now, for good or ill, I serve you."
    (Charon's dialogue)
  5. The Lone Wanderer: "This contract says you're going. The code is 2-1-6. Now get."
    Charon: "If you insist..."
    (Charon's dialogue)
  6. Fred Zeleny on Twitter: "@q0rt @leighalexander Once, @DoctorSpooky found a CL fantasy-hookup request for Charon, the ghoul he wrote in FO3. He considered responding."
  7. The Lone Wanderer: "I want you to use ranged weapons."
    Charon: "If that is what you wish, then it is what I shall do. I must say, that I find happiness in a warm gun."
    (Charon's dialogue)
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