View source for Charon

{{Person
| image          = Charon.jpg
| caption        = Charon in his famous boat.
| name           = Charon
| alt_spelling   = 
| titles         = The Ferryman, The Boatman of the Lower Planes
| aliases        = Cerlic<ref name="PotP"/>
| nicknames      = 
| true name      = 
| home           = The [[River Styx]]
| formerhomes    = 
| sex            = Male
| race           = [[Altraloth]]
| ethnicity      = 
| occupation     = Boatman
| age            = 
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| alignment1e    = [[Neutral evil]]
| class1e        = 
| refs1e         = <ref name="MMII-1e-p28">{{Cite book/Monster Manual II 1st edition|28}}</ref>
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| alignment35    = [[Neutral evil]]
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| refs35         = <ref name="Dun149-p83"/>
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}}'''Charon''' ({{Pronounce|KÆR|un|refs=<ref name="D.93.APG-p26">{{Cite dragon/93/Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd|26}}</ref>|audio=Charon1.ogg}} {{Pronounce|KAY|run|refs=<ref name="D.93.APG-p26" />|alt=yes|audio=Charon2.ogg}}), also known as '''Cerlic''',<ref name="PotP" /> was a major [[altraloth]]<ref name="PotP">{{Cite dragon annual/1997/Pox of the Planes|107-108}}</ref> and the boatman of the [[River Styx]], who ferried souls down the River for a steep price.<ref name="MM2-p28">{{Cite book/Monster Manual II (1983)|28}}</ref>

==Description==
Charon's appearance was that of a skeletal man with glowing eyes in a haggard face. He typically wore royal robes or ermine and silk. Charon was about 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall,<ref>{{Cite book/Monster Manual II (1983)|28}}</ref> and weighed almost 240 pounds (109 kilograms). His hands were bony claws and his feet were webbed. No-one alive or dead had ever seen Charon without his hood up.<ref name="Dun149-p83">{{Cite dungeon/149/Enemies of My Enemy|84}}</ref>

==Personality==
Charon was the lord of the Styx, from its beginning to its end. He despised any [[outsider]], particularly [[wastrilith]]s, who dared interfere with his river and hunted them down. He also exacted payment from all who made use of the Styx to travel the [[plane]]s. Charon was deceitful and cunning, and utterly self-serving, usually operating only to benefit himself.<ref name="Dun149-p83" />

As defender of all [[marraenoloth]]s, Charon would come to the aid of any of the fiends who called for his help. However, he charged a stiff price, usually on the order of hundreds of thousands of platinum pieces. As a result, some marraenoloths would rather die than call for the Stygian Ferryman to save them.<ref name="PotP" />

==Realm==
All of the River Styx was considered Charon's realm, but he was rumored to have a secret fortress in which he hoarded the fees he collected for his services. A [[planewalker]] who came to [[Sigil]] from the [[Astral Plane]] once claimed to have found a stronghold built entirely of [[black ice]] staffed with "raft-riding skeletons." It was believed that this might be Charon's rumored fortress.<ref name="PotP" />

==Followers==
All marraenoloths were considered followers of Charon, but they were independent agents who acted on their own. They served Charon of their own free will, not because they were bound to do so.<ref name="PotP" />

==History==
Many ages past, the marraenoloths were besieged by repeated attacks by [[demodand]]s under orders from their master, [[Apomps]]. Though the skeletal fiends sought aid from the greater [[yugoloth]]s, their entreaties were rebuffed, for they couldn't afford the exorbitant prices asked by the [[ultroloth]] masters of their race. In desperation, the marraenoloths turned to the [[night hag]]s. The night hags agreed to use their [[magic]] to create a champion, an ''altraloth'', from their number in exchange for free and unrestricted ferry service across the Styx, for all time. With no other alternative, the marraenoloths agreed, and so one of them was transformed into Cerlic, the altraloth champion more commonly known as Charon. With his greater, hag-enhanced powers, Charon was able to stop the demodand attacks so thoroughly that the demodands never bothered the marraenoloths again, though exactly how he did this has been kept secret from other races.<ref name="PotP" />

==Powers==
Charon was connected to the Styx and all life, and therefore he couldn't be destroyed. If he was defeated in combat his essence returned to the River's source. Twenty-four hours later, Charon returned and relentlessly pursued those who defeated him. As long as there was at least one living creature in the [[Multiverse]], the River would continue to flow and Charon could not be destroyed.<ref name="Dun149-p83" />

==Appendix==
===Appearances===
{{Appearances
|adventures = ''[[The Throne of Bloodstone]]''
|novels = ''[[Song of the Saurials]]'';''[[Relentless]]''
|organized play = ''[[Plane Speaking]]''
}}

===Further Reading===
* {{Cite dungeon/149/Enemies of My Enemy|84}}
* {{Cite dragon annual/1997/Pox of the Planes|107-108}}
* {{Cite book/Manual of the Planes 1st edition}}
* {{Cite book/Monster Manual II (1983)|28}}
* {{Cite book/Faces of Evil: The Fiends}}
* {{Cite book/Planes of Conflict}}

===References===
{{refs}}
[[Category:Altraloths]]
[[Category:Boatmen]]
[[Category:Inhabitants of the Lower Planes]]
[[Category:Inhabitants]]