Charon

"Gguhhhhhh...."

- Charon

Charon is the boatman of the river Styx, responsible for ferrying deceased souls across the river and into the underworld. In Greek mythology, he required a single obol - placed into the mouth before burial - as payment for his services, or else the soul in question would be left to wander the banks of the Styx for a hundred years.

Charon's services in-game are, unfortunately, much more expensive; he functions as the game's shopkeeper, selling Zagreus various power-ups, healing items, and boons in return for the obols he collects throughout his escape attempt. He can be found in chambers with a preview showing a brown sack, usually around the mid-length of each biome before a mini-boss encounter and at the penultimate chamber of a biome, before the boss encounter.

He also operates the Wells of Charon which can be randomly found throughout the Underworld.

He doesn't say much, communicating only in groans of various intonations, which Zagreus appears to either understand or enjoy interpreting in humorous ways. Zagreus often expresses annoyance that Charon apparently either cannot or will not simply ferry him up to the surface in his boat.

While all the gods (except Chaos) can use Charon's shop to offer their boons to Zagreus, Hermes is the only god with whom Charon has a lasting professional relationship, as seen in dialog with Hermes, as well as in Hermes's Codex Entry.

Affinity
If given Nectar Charon will give you the Bone Hourglass, which increases the duration of items sold at Wells of Charon.

Charon's affinity gauge is maxed out at 7 hearts.

Favor
Charon's favor requires spending at least 10,000 in total at his shop.

Codex entry
Unlocking the complete Codex Entry requires deepening Zagreus' relationship with Charon.

Quotes
"For quotes and dialogue regarding, please refer to /Quotes."

Before Styx
The following offerings are available in Charon's Shop in Tartarus, Asphodel or Elysium:

Temple of Styx
"Not far from here, the dead begin their journey to their final resting-place down in the depths below; and so the river-boatman Charon often passes through."

Charon's Shop in Temple of Styx has 6 offerings in total.


 * 1 offer of either (Cost of this offering is not affected by Pact Condition Convenience fee):
 * 1 Diamond costing 1000
 * 1 Titan Blood costing 1200
 * 1 offer of either
 * Hermes' Boon with Boosted rarity costing 500
 * Anvil of Fates costing 275


 * 2 offers of the following:
 * 1/4 chance: Centaur Heart costing 125
 * 1/4 chance: Pom of Power costing 100
 * 1/2 chance: Non-Hermes, Non-Chaos Boon costing 150
 * 2 offers of the following:
 * 1/3 chance: a non-Hermes, non-Chaos Boon with Boosted rarity. Costs 450
 * 2/3 chance: a super Pom of Power that can increase level of a boon by . Costs 300

The Boosted rarity for higher priced Gods' boons are:


 * Chance to be Legendary:
 * Chance to be Epic:
 * Chance to be Rare: -- this means the rarity would be at least Rare and never Common.

Combat
"A hidden stretch of the boundless river Styx cuts through misty Erebus, providing for the river-boatman Charon a locale in which to deal with the unruliest of souls."

- Nice place you got here, mate!

A sack of 300 Charon's Obol randomly appears behind him at his shops mid-way through biomes. If the player interacts with it, Charon will send Zagreus into a room in Erebus filled with his treasures and four tall, golden jars. Initiating a fight with the player, the boatman has the following attacks.


 * Ghost Charge: Charon hovers to the sides of the field, sending a wave from the west or east side of the room. Throughout the battle, the pattern changes depending on his health (he also hovers to the center of the room instead), sending waves from the top and bottom, both east and west sides in a V-shaped pattern, or in a full room rotation counter-clockwise.
 * Floor Wave: Charon pushes a tsunami-like wave that bounces once around the room towards the player. As the battle progresses, Charon will send up to three waves.
 * Oar Swipe: Moving to the player, Charon swipes his oar twice in a wide range, dealing heavy damage if caught.
 * Stun Wave: If too close to Charon, he will pulse a wave that deals knockback and a brief stun to the player.

At 75% max HP and 45% max HP, Charon will shatter two of the golden jars, destroying the player's cover from his attacks.

At 20% max HP, Charon will call off the fight, granting Zagreus a Loyalty Card for his troubles, and you also get to keep the 300 Charon's Obol's "borrowed" from him.

The fight has the same difficulty regardless of the biome, so players will have the best chance of defeating Charon if they initiate the fight in Elysium, after they've received some boons. However, defeating him in Tartarus or Asphodel will give the player more opportunities to use the Loyalty Card.

After you defeat him the first time, you trigger an extra dialog with Thanatos about the fight.