Menu key, change from int to char

[Kalisnoir]

So wasn't quite sure how to word the problem for the Title but my problem should be quite simple for someone with decent knowledge of C++.

Basically I am creating a text based RPG and I currently use numbers to navigate everything, and this isn't a problem until I need a menu key.

I need to be able to take the userInput and accept a char to open the menu.

Here is a sample for what I mean;

	while (running){ // Will loop while running = 1
		if(playerLocation == 1) {
			cout << "You are standing in the middle of a forest. A path veers of the East and to the West\n";
			cout << " 1: Go East\n 2: Go West\n";
			cin >> userInput;

			if(userInput == 1) playerLocation = 2; // East
			else if(userInput == 2) playerLocation = 3; // West
			else if(userInput == 0) menuFuncNav(); // Opens the menu.

		}

Where else if(userInput == 0) menuFuncNav();

I need to be able to accept a char such as "x" and still take in the numbers. I tried using it as a string and just putting the numbers in "" but the problem is that I have code that uses the userInput in part of the menu to select the weapon from the array.