Skeleton Merchant

Type	NPC
Environment	Cavern
AI Type	Passive AI
Damage	10
Max Life	250
Defense	30
KB Resist	50%
Hurt
Killed

Desktop/Console/Mobile-Only Content: This information applies only to the Desktop, Console, and Mobile versions of Terraria.

A Skeleton Merchant found lurking in the Cavern.

The Skeleton Merchant is an NPC vendor that randomly spawns in the Cavern layer.

He is not a Town NPC and will despawn when off-screen, although enemies will not spawn near him.

The Skeleton Merchant's stock changes at dawn (4:30 AM) daily, and he does not need to respawn for it to do so. The majority of the items in his inventory will vary, depending on the current moon phase.

He will throw Bones to fend off nearby non-skeletal enemies, while ignoring bosses and most other skeletons.

Unlike other NPCs, the Skeleton Merchant does not have a map icon. A Hunter Potion will highlight him.

He is one of the few entities that can be detected by the Lifeform Analyzer or its upgrades. His current name will be displayed (e.g. Rattles Magoo) rather than Skeleton Merchant.

Items sold

Note: All item prices can be decreased by equipping a Discount Card or Greedy Ring.

Inventory
Item	Cost	Availability
Wooden Boomerang	1	During a Full Moon:
Umbrella	1	During a Waning Gibbous:
Wand of Sparking	1	During a Third Quarter in regular worlds:
Magic Dagger	50	During a Third Quarter in Don't dig up and Get fixed boi worlds:
Step Stool	250	During a Waning Crescent:
Aglet	250	During a New Moon:
Climbing Claws	250	During a Waxing Crescent:
Guide to Plant Fiber Cordage	250	During a First Quarter:
Radar	250	During a Waxing Gibbous:
Strange Brew	5	During the following moon phases:
Lesser Healing Potion	3	During the following moon phases:
Healing Potion	10	In Hardmode, during the following moon phases:
Spelunker Glowstick	150	At night, or all day during a Full Moon:
Spelunker Flare	150	When the player has a Flare Gun in their inventory at night, or all day during a Full Moon:
Glowstick	10	At daytime, during the following moon phases:
Bone Torch	1	During the first half of every in game minute (every real life second).
Torch	50	During the second half of every in game minute (every real life second).
Bone Arrow	15	During the following moon phases:
Wooden Arrow	5	During the following moon phases:
Blue Counterweight	5	During the following moon phases:
Red Counterweight	5	During the following moon phases:
Purple Counterweight	5	During the following moon phases:
Green Counterweight	5	During the following moon phases:
Bomb	3	Always available.
Rope	10	Always available.
Gradient	20	In Hardmode, during the following moon phases:
Format:C	20	In Hardmode, during the following moon phases:
Yoyo Glove	50	In Hardmode.
Slap Hand	25	In Hardmode, during Blood Moon.
Magic Lantern	10	At night, during a Full Moon:
Artisan Loaf	10	If the player has not consumed an Artisan Loaf before, during the following moon phases:

Shimmered form

When submerged in Shimmer, the Skeleton Merchant will transform into his Shimmered form. This has no impact on gameplay or dialogue and is only a visual change. He can be returned to his classic look by submerging him in Shimmer again.

Names

The Skeleton Merchant may have any of the following names:

Billy Marrows
Bones McGee
Gloomy Mays
Jack Sellington
Mandible Calavera
Mika
No-Eyed Wiley
Rattles Magoo
Skellington
Tom
Victor

Quotes

"Got any spare bones for sale? I'm looking to replace my broken hip... again."
"Excellent! Someone's finally come by to take some of these maggots off my hands."
"There's no illness or condition that can't be cured by some of my Slime Oil! Trust me, it works, just look at my lively figure!"
"You've got a real backbone coming way down here, how 'bout ya buy somethin?"
"You would not believe some of the things people throw at me... Wanna buy some of it?"
"I'd lend you a hand, but last time I did that, I didn't get it back for a month."
"Stay away from the spiders. They'll suck out your insides and leave you a hollow shell of a man. Trust me on this one."
"The only things constant in this world are death and taxes, I've got both!"

During Rain:

"Up there? Heard it's pretty wet. Don't want my bones getting soggy and mushy..."

When in a Graveyard:

"As much as you would think I'd belong here, I really don't."
"How did I get here!? These are not my friends!"

During a Thunderstorm:

"The surface is overabundant with destructive weather. Singed bones would be bad for my complexion!"

During a Windy Day:

"The world above is turbulent and chaotic. I like my bones to stay attached, as it were!"

Notes

He cannot be teleported by the Portal Gun or King Statue.
He can sometimes spawn in pools of water. However, his skeletal nature renders him immune to drowning.
The Skeleton Merchant does not attack other skeletons, nor will they harm him via contact damage. He can still be harmed by certain non-contact attacks like Skeleton Archer's arrows.
- He will not attack bosses save for Skeletron. He may still be damaged by them, however.
He cannot be killed by explosives deployed by the player. However, he may spawn in front of a Detonator or pressure plate explosive trap. Because of his bulkier appearance, players interacting with him may unwillingly hit the plunger on the detonator trap, killing both him and the player.
Despite similar mechanics, the Skeleton Merchant is not considered a town NPC in regards to reducing enemy spawns. He does, however, count as seven NPCs for the sake of enemy spawn limits when spawning NPCs, mechanically similar to bosses. In most cases this effectively blocks virtually anything from spawning, including critters. This creates a problem when the player is preparing to farm monsters in the Underground or Cavern layers. It is necessary to have a strong external damage source (lava, Boulders, Jungle Temple traps) to kill him to continue farming, or just go far enough for him to despawn.
- His presence also does not increase the chance for critters to spawn, unlike actual town NPCs.
He does not spawn on Jungle grass or evil biome blocks.
Be careful when using the Volcano near him: He will be affected by the explosion and likely burn to death.

Tips

Selling items to him can help a player clear out their inventory in the middle of a long caving session.
If a player notices a suspiciously low number of enemies on their Radar, it could be a sign that the Skeleton Merchant has spawned.

Trivia

The Skeleton Merchant's scavenging animation in the credits.

The names Jack Sellington and Skellington are references to Jack Skellington from the 1993 American animated fantasy Halloween-Christmas film The Nightmare Before Christmas.
He can be seen retrieving a Slap Hand from a pile of bones in the credits.
The name "Bones McGee" is a reference to Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy, a character in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek.
The name "No-Eyed Wiley" is a reference to One-Eyed Willy from the 1985 American adventure comedy film The Goonies.
The name "Mandible Calavera" is a reference to Manuel "Manny" Calavera from the adventure game Grim Fandango.
The names "Billy Marrows" and "Gloomy Mays" are a reference to the late American television salesperson Billy Mays.
The name "Tom" may be a reference to Tom "Bones" Malone, member of the American blues and soul revivalist band The Blues Brothers.
- "Tom" may also be a reference to the enemy Tim.
The quote about Slime Oil is a reference to the "miracle medicine" peddlers of the 1800s, who were commonly called Snake Oil Salesmen.
The quote "The only things constant in this world are death and taxes, I've got both!" is a reference to Benjamin Franklin's famous quote "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
The quote "You would not believe some of the things people throw at me... Wanna buy some of it?" is a reference to a young scavenger named "Squirt the Peddler" in the action role-playing game Diablo III. Squirt periodically asks the player a near-exact variation of this question, but refers to "things people throw away" instead of "things people throw at me".
The quote "Stay away from the spiders. They'll suck out your insides and leave you a hollow shell of a man. Trust me on this one." suggests that he came to be after being killed by a Spider.
Even though he is not a town NPC, he will throw confetti during a Party.
He is one of two NPCs that does not have a map icon, the other being the Old Man.
He is the only NPC that always despawns once off-screen. The Traveling Merchant also despawns when off-screen, but only after 6:00 PM.
Despite the fact one of his quotes makes a joke on the idea, the Skeleton Merchant does not sell Maggots.
If the Skeleton Merchant is slain, no message pops up to announce his death, unlike most NPCs.
The counterweights he sells resemble dice used in Dungeons and Dragons. This is a possible reference to weighted dies used for cheating, which may be provided by a disreputable merchant such as the Skeleton Merchant.
The Skeleton Merchant's Shimmered form transforms him into a Zombie. This is most likely a reference to the fact that Zombies turn into Skeletons in shimmer.

The Bestiary entry for the Skeleton Merchant: "Most skeletons are out for blood, but not the Skeleton Merchant. He just wants to sell supplies, such as rare torches and yo-yo gear."

History

Desktop version

Desktop 1.4.4:
- Now sells the Artisan Loaf.
- Now sells Healing Potions in Hardmode.
- Now sells a variety of surface chest loot.
- Now has a chance to be named "Victor".
- Sprite updated.