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

Dead Man's Chest

• 

Statistics

Placeable	✔️
Use time	15 (Very fast)
Tooltip	Activates when opened
Rarity	00*
Sell	1
Research	1 required

• Internal Item ID: 3988
• Internal Tile ID: 467 (5)

The Dead Man's Chest is a naturally-generating Gold Chest that is rigged with various traps in order to kill the player upon opening the chest. The setup usually includes 1-5 Boulder traps, 2-6 Dart Traps, and 0-3 Explosives, with a possibility of 1-2 Geysers at lava level. The Boulder traps are set up above the chest, while the Dart Traps are setup horizontally, and the explosives hidden underneath.

Dead Man's Chests will always generate alone, and never in an Underground Cabin (except in certain secret seeds like `notraps`/`getfixedboi`).

The Dead Man's Chest will contain standard Gold Chest loot based on where it is found, as well as occasionally the Dead Man's Sweater.

Loot[]

Secondary Items
%	Chance	Item
33.33%	1 / 3	Dead Man's Sweater

Notes[]

• The Boulder traps that are wired to the Dead Man's Chest are rigged with Actuators rather than Active Stone Blocks.
• Functionally, the Dead Man's Chest is similar to a Trapped Chest with slots like regular storage items, as it can send signals via wires. It differs in how it only spawns naturally and cannot be crafted.
• The Dead Man's Chest will send out a signal whenever it is opened or closed (with ⚒ Use / Attack key).
• Fairies can lead to the Dead Man's Chest.
• The achievement can still be obtained even if the chest is renamed.

Achievements[]

Dead Men Tell No Tales • “You were so preoccupied with whether or not you could open the chest that you didn't stop to think if you should.”

Die within 10 seconds after opening a Dead Man's Chest.

Category: Challenger

Tips[]

• While the combination of traps can prove deadly to even a player with end-game gear, most of them can be avoided by simply using solid blocks, and the Explosives can be mined.
• Using the Mechanical Lens or The Grand Design can easily reveal all the traps around the chest, and provides lots of wire and actuators to harvest.
• The most evident giveaway of a Dead Man's Chest are the Boulder traps above it, as they are larger and generally easier to spot than the 1×1-tile Dart Traps and hidden Explosives.
• Attempting to use the Block Swap feature to swap out these chests for harmless ones will still trigger the traps.
• Particles will be generated when hitting a Gold Chest with a tool, but not when hitting a Dead Man's Chest with a tool. This can be used to reveal a Dead Man's Chest safely.
• The Dead Man's Chest can only imitate unlocked Gold Chests. Other chests will always be safe to open, provided if they are not also a Mimic.
  • This means that all non-Gold Chest chests in the Cavern layer are all safe to open.

Trivia[]

• The term “Dead Man's Chest” comes from a pirate song in Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure novel "Treasure Island". The lyrics are " Fifteen men on a Dead Man's Chest, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum".
  • The term was also used as a movie title in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
• The achievements description is a direct reference to a quote from Jurassic Park, when Dr. Ian Malcolm states that "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should".
• The name may also be a reference to a “Dead Mans Switch” which is a popular device wherein something, usually explosives, will activate upon a certain persons death. Though in this case, the trigger causes your death rather than happening because of it.

History[]

 PC version

• Desktop 1.4.0.1: Introduced.

 Mobile version

• Mobile 1.4.0.5.0: Introduced.