An Old Man

Not to be confused with The Old Man (Halloween adventure).

An Old Man resides by the sea. He sends you on the quest An Old Guy and The Ocean.

• At level 10 or lower:

You knock on the door of the seaside shack, but there's no answer. Maybe try back later.

• First visit at level 11 or higher:

Hello there, young Adventurer. Back when I was your age, I used to be quite a fisherman. These days, well, what with my arthritis, and my gout, and this old war injury, well, I don't get out there so much anymore.

Say, is that a set of SCUBA gear you've got there? Maybe you can help me. I lost my favorite boot, you see. Dropped it right off the side of my boat. Time was I'd just fish until I dredged it back up, and boy, lemme tell you, was it a hoot! But not anymore. That dang marlin sapped the last of my strength.

Think you could go down there and get it for me? I'd be obliged, yessirree.

Oh, and hey, if you wanna take your little buddy with you, this'll help.

You acquire an item: little bitty bathysphere

• 11,037 Leagues Under the Sea ascension only:

You're going to need something to help you breather^[sic] underwater. Normally, I'd just sell you an old SCUBA tank, but I'd like you go down there and evict the Naughty Sorceress, so have my best pants.

You acquire an item: really, really nice swimming trunks

If you need something to help you breathe underwater, I've got this old SCUBA tank I'd be willing to part with. Let's call it 10,000 Meat. On second thoughts, let's call it a SCUBA tank, and say it costs 10,000 Meat.

Buy the tank (10,000 Meat)

• With sufficient meat:

Pleasure doin' business with you!

You spent 10,000 Meat.

You acquire an item: old SCUBA tank

• Without sufficient meat:

You can't afford it, buster!

• If you have an old SCUBA tank:

You already bought that.

• If you installed a sushi-rolling mat at your campsite in a previous ascension:

Looks like you used to have one of these, have another!

You acquire an item: sushi-rolling mat

• Subsequent visits:

Say, have you found my boot yet? I know it's down there somewhere.

• With the damp old boot:

Say, is that my boot you've got there? Yippee! Thanks, Adventurer! I knew you'd come through for me.

What can I give you in return, youngster? Surely there's something in this old pile of ju... treasure... that you could use.

Take	das boot
Take	fishy pipe
Take	crate of fish meat
Take	damp old wallet

• After trading for an item

The Old Man takes his boot and gives you your reward.

You acquire... something. [[Data:{{{item}}}]]

"Take care of yourself, Adventurer. If you need me, I'll just be sitting here, dreaming about lions."

• Subsequent Visits after trading

The old man snores fitfully, muttering something about a lion. Dying. In the rain.

• With a psychoanalytic jar:

Use psychoanalytic jar on him

You open up the jar and look into the patient's eyes.

You acquire an item: jar of psychoses (The Old Man)

Notes

• If you ascend, then you can purchase another damp old boot from Big Brother and the Old Man will give you another treasure for it.
• While in most special challenge path runs, the Old Man is replaced with this message:

That shack you saw on the main map was just a picture of an old shack drawn on the ground.

History

• Prior to September 17, 2013, the Old Man would only offer the old SCUBA tank for purchase if you did not have some other breathing apparatus already. If you already had an aerated diving helmet in your inventory, Display Case, or Closet, the message would show:

  You shouldn't waste your money -- you've already got an aerated diving helmet.

• Also, if you had a makeshift SCUBA gear, it would show:

  You shouldn't waste your money -- you've already got some SCUBA gear.

• Returning your sushi-rolling mat was added in August 2025 prior to the release of 11,037 Leagues Under the Sea.

References

• This is a reference to a novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.