A mysterious yet predictable character from Greek mythology. Charon was a ferryman: his job was to row the shades of the dead (plus the occasional living visitor) across the River Styx in his boat to the Underworld. There was, however, a fare for the crossing: each shade had to present Charon with a coin called an obol, and it was traditional for Ancient Greeks to be buried with an obol under their tongue for this purpose.

Charon appears as a character in the gamebook section of The Sorcerer's Isle. The player must pay Charon with a coin in order to become his passenger, but must abandon ship during the voyage, after which they may be able to swim to a new shore and complete their quest. If the player remains in the boat, Charon takes them all the way to the Underworld, and the adventure ends.

As the above description suggests, the Boatman of the Dunswater from Knightmare Series 4 is likely to have been based on Charon.

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On at least one occasion, a character in Le Chevalier Du Labyrinthe, the French version of Knightmare, invoked Charon to enable a team to continue. Two ledges rose from below, making it possible for the dungeoneer to traverse a gap.

Charon was the inspiration for Cheron, a character in Knightmare RPG Season 2.

Edmund Dehn, who played Gumboil, the Giant, Igneous and the Automatum in Knightmare, appeared as Charon in the fantasy film Lovelorn.

[Earlier version: 2006-08-20 17:11:06]

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