Skeleton Merchant

The Skeleton Merchant is an NPC vendor that randomly spawns in the Cavern layer. Enemies will not spawn near him (same in 1.4). He will not move into a vacant house if one is available, similar to the Traveling Merchant and the Old Man. He will despawn when off-screen, unlike the others, making him the only NPC that despawns once off-screen.

The Skeleton Merchant's stock changes at dawn (4:30AM) daily, and he does not need to respawn for it to do so. His inventory is dependent on the current moon phase.

He will throw Bones to fend off nearby non-skeletal enemies.

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

In, his current name will be displayed (e.g. Gloomy Mays) rather than "Skeleton Merchant".



Impact on Enemy Farming

 * The Skeleton Merchant's appearance blocks monster spawns around the player, similar to what three town NPCs do, but there is something more: He is counted as seven normal NPCs in the process of counting active NPCs when spawning NPCs, in most cases effectively blocking virtually anything from spawning, including critters (the maximum spawn is  when three town NPCs are present). 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, Lihzahrd traps) to kill him to continue farming, or just go far enough for him to despawn.  This may not apply to 1.4- needs further testing (recluse farm, expert, corruption biome still spawns spiders when skeleton merchant is in the safe box, at least.)
 * If a player notices a suspiciously low number of enemies on their radar it could be a sign that the Skeleton Merchant has spawned.
 * If a player speaks to the Skeleton Merchant, he will stop attacking enemies around himself and stand still. This will allow most non-skeletal enemies to kill him.

Miscellaneous

 * Unlike other NPCs, he can neither be teleported using a Portal Gun or King Statue, nor drown. He can sometimes spawn in pools of water.

• If there is a bunny in the caverns it is a sign that the skeleton merchant is near.
 * The Skeleton Merchant does not attack skeletal enemies, nor will they harm him via contact damage. Skeleton Archers, however, may shoot him by accident if the player is behind the Skeleton Merchant. This will only deal one damage to the Skeleton Merchant (or two if it is a critical hit). Some other enemies, such as bosses like the Golem, will also not cause him to attack, though they can still damage him via contact.
 * Skeletron is an exception as both will attack each other.
 * 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.

Quotes


When it’s raining:


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

During a :


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

During a :


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

Tips

 * Selling items to him can help a player clear out their inventory in the middle of a long caving session.

Trivia

 * The names Jack Sellington and Skellington are references to Jack Skellington from the 1993 American animated fantasy Halloween-Christmas film .
 * The name "Bones McGee" is a reference to Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy from Star Trek.
 * No-Eyed Wiley is a reference to One-Eyed Willy from the 1985 American adventure comedy film .
 * The name "Mandible Calavera" is a reference to Manuel "Manny" Calavera from the adventure game .
 * The names "Billy Marrows" and "Gloomy Mays" are a reference to the late American television salesperson.
 * The name "Tom" may be a reference to Tom "Bones" Malone, member of the American blues and soul revivalist band.
 * "Tom" may also be a reference to the enemy Tim.
 * The quote about Slime Oil is a reference to the "" peddlers of the 1800s, who were commonly called Snake Oil Salesmen.
 * The quote "" is a reference to 's famous quote, "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
 * The quote "" is a reference to a young scavenger named "Squirt the Peddler" in the action role-playing game . 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 "" suggests the Skeleton Merchant was slain 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.
 * If the Skeleton Merchant is nearby, Bunnies can spawn underground.
 * Despite the fact one of his quotes says so, the skeleton merchant does not sell maggots.
 * If the Skeleton Merchant is slain, no message would pop up to announce his death, unlike most NPCs.

History
Marchand squelette 骷髅商人