Charon (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
role-playing game
, Charon is a powerful altraloth, a lord of the yugoloth
s, reportedly transformed into a more powerful creature by the night hags
of the Gray Waste
. Charon's role is to provide travel on the River Styx, but he always charges a steep price and kills those who cannot or will not pay. Charon commands a legion of marraenoloths who provide the same service.
's boatman
of the River Acheron.
Annual #2 (1997).
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Charon is a powerful altraloth, a lord of the yugoloth
Yugoloth
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, yugoloths are neutral evil natives of the lower planes of the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna and the Gray Waste of Hades...
s, reportedly transformed into a more powerful creature by the night hags
Night hag (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the night hag is an outsider that comes from the Gray Waste of Hades. The night hag's relationship to other types of hags is unclear...
of the Gray Waste
Gray Waste
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Gray Waste is a strongly evil aligned plane of existence...
. Charon's role is to provide travel on the River Styx, but he always charges a steep price and kills those who cannot or will not pay. Charon commands a legion of marraenoloths who provide the same service.
Publication history
Charon is named for Greek mythologyGreek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
's boatman
Charon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage, usually an obolus or danake, was sometimes placed in or on...
of the River Acheron.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
Charon (The Boatman of the Lower Planes) first appeared in the daemon entry in the original Monster Manual II (1983).Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Cerlic, also known as Charon, appeared as one of the altraloths in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
Annual #2 (1997).