Terraria Wiki
Terraria Wiki
Advertisement
Terraria Wiki

The Old Man is a pre-boss NPC. He does nothing but pace around at the entrance to the Dungeon. If a player attempts to talk to him at night, a warning dialogue will appear asking if the player wants to continue. During the day he will just tell you to come back at night. To enter the Dungeon he is guarding, Skeletron must be defeated. He will judge players with less than 15 hearts (300 HP) and/or less than 10 defense as unworthy to fight Skeletron. This, however, does not hinder the player from summoning Skeletron.

Terraria 4565474

Old man telling player to come back at night

If a player attempts to enter the dungeon before Skeletron is defeated, the player will be chased by a Dungeon Guardian that inflicts an instant kill on touch. Once Skeletron is slain, the Old Man will appear as the Clothier in town if you have an available room.

If Skeletron is not defeated, and the player is slain, the Old Man will reappear back at the entrance to the dungeon.

TradingCardOldMan

The old man card.

Notes[]

  • The Old Man is immune to the attacks from monsters. However, he can still take damage from lava, dart traps and boulders. However, when killed he will respawn almost instantly.
  • The Clothier has blue eyes instead of red, probably due to him being free of his curse.
  • He and Santa Claus are the only NPCs without a name.
  • If you talk to him as far away as possible, Skeletron's head will not touch you.
  • He will sometimes go down into the Dungeon, making the player wait far enough away for him to teleport back.
  • Unlike the player, the Old Man will not continuously take damage from a sand trap, though he will take damage initially. He will repeatedly turn while stuck in the trap, but will take no damage from it.
  • Due to their highly similar appearance, he may be a reference to the Old Man in the original Legend of Zelda.
  • There is a way to get inside the Dungeon without defeating Skeletron. The player can use a teleportation item, ie. Rod of Discord, to bypass the Dungeon Guardia.
  • He seems to have mood swings, going from "You pathetic fool. You cannot hope to face my master as you are now." to "Please, no, stranger. You'll only get yourself killed."
  • He may attempt to lure the player in to the dungeon, as his line "I cannot let you enter until you free me of my curse." can be tempting to some new players to enter the dungeon and thus be killed by the Dungeon Guardian.
Old Man's Quotes

Daytime

  • "Come back at night if you wish to enter."
  • "I cannot let you enter until you free me of my curse."
  • "My master cannot be summoned under the light of day."

Night time, before you are considered strong enough to defeat Skeletron

  • "You are far too weak to defeat my curse. Come back when you aren't so worthless."
  • "You pathetic fool. You cannot hope to face my master as you are now."
  • "I hope there are, like, six friends hiding behind you."
  • "Please, no, stranger. You'll only get yourself killed"

Night time, after you are considered strong enough to defeat Skeletron

  • "Stranger, do you possess the strength to defeat my master?"
  • "You might just be strong enough to free me from my curse..."
  • "Defeat my master, and I will grant you access to the dungeon."
  • "Please! Battle my captor and free me! I beg you!"

Update Info[]

v1.3.0.1

  • Sprite updated.

v1.0.5

  • Will now warn players before becoming Skeletron.

PC release

  • Added to the game.


NPCs
Angler Head Angler Arms Dealer Arms Dealer Clothier Clothier NPC Head 16 Cyborg
Demolitionist Demolitionist Dryad Dryad Dye Trader Head Dye Trader Goblin Tinkerer Goblin Tinkerer
GolferHead Golfer Guide Guide Mechanic Mechanic Merchant Merchant
Nurse Nurse Old Man Small Old Man Painter Head Painter Party Girl Head Party Girl
Pirate Head Pirate Santa Face Santa Claus Steampunker Head Steampunker Stylist Head Stylist
TravellingMerchant Head Travelling Merchant Truffle Head Truffle Witch Doctor Head Witch Doctor Wizard Wizard
SkeletonMerchant Skeleton Merchant Tax Collector's Head Tax Collector Tavernkeep's Head Tavernkeep
Advertisement