Should you invest in Lumpy’s search for oil Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Lumpy, the green Ratooey, is looking for someone to fund his search for oil in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. He’s certain he can strike it rich and promises a return on investment. However, he’s asking for a lot, so should you do it?

Lumpy appears early in the game. You’ll find him near the dock in the south part of Rogueport. He’s loitering near the extreme right side of the screen, and being a bright green rat, he’s a bit hard to miss.

When you talk to him, he’ll speak of his aspirations to drill Dry Dry Desert for its black gold (oil). He’ll ask for a steep upfront payment of 100 coins. Pay him that, and he’ll ask for 100 more. Pay him that, and he’ll ask for 100 more. After you’ve paid 300 coins, he’ll say he has enough. He’ll then depart after Chapter 4. Despite his earnestness, there’s something sketchy about the whole deal. It’s probably the way he gets indignant if you refuse.

However, if you do make an investment, he does stay true to his word. He’ll return to Rogueport after Chapter 6, and will give you a share of the earnings that your investment helped enable.

How much does Lumpy give you?

In Paper Mario: TTYD, Lumpy will return from Dry Dry Desert after Chapter 6, and will bring you stories of his adventure, as well as a return on your investment.

Here are what you get depending on what you invested.

• 100 coin investment – 300 coins
• 200 coin investment – 600 coins
• 300 coin investment – 999 coins

Each level of investment is tripled, so no matter what you give to Lumpy, you get a decent stack of coins for your trouble. However, the 300 coin investment nets you the largest profit by a pretty hefty margin.

So, yes, you should definitely invest in Lumpy’s enterprise. This might sound obvious, but I’d recommend 300 coins if you can spare it since it will completely fill your pockets.

Speaking of which, the maximum number of coins you could carry in the GameCube version is 999. This means that if you had coins in your pocket when you collected from Lumpy, it would subtract from the number you’re given. However, this has been increased in the Switch version. I’m not sure what the maximum is, but I’m guessing 9999. Either way, you should now be able to fit all of his reward in your pockets.