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alt title(s): Bad Ass Old Guy; The Yoda
Truth in television (and everywhere else).

"Never act incautiously when confronted by a little bald wrinkly smiling man!"
— Rule One, according to Lu-Tze, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld

"Age and treachery will triumph over youth and skill."
— Fencer's Adage

Don't let his age (or his size) fool you; the Old Master is a force to be reckoned with. Despite being at least sixty years old, he (or she) is a formidable fighter who can take on several younger opponents at a time and barely get winded. They may rely on years of training and deceptive strength, or cunning and Obfuscating Stupidity, but they get the job done.

Break out the ^ sign on your calculator when this trope is applied to seasoned adventurers of any type; anyone who's managed to survive to a ripe old age while performing inherently dangerous work is obviously really damned good at it.

The Old Master is often the sensei to one of the main characters, training them so they can pass on the torch to the new generation (and maybe earn themselves a break). To do so, the character typically prefers the Wax On Wax Off approach to education and the When You Snatch the Pebble approach to final exams. Crueler Old Masters, on the other hand, function as the Drill Sergeant Nasty, and those who study under him had better be prepared for Training From Hell.

May double as The Obi Wan. See also Badass Grandpa and Weak But Skilled.

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The Old ConMentorsOlder And Wiser
Older Hero VS Younger VillainEldersOlder Sidekick
Old FriendCharacters As DeviceOld Soldier