Grim Reaper

The Grim Reaper is an NPC who appears in The Sims: Livin' Large, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, The Sims 4 and The Sims Medieval. He also appears in The Sims FreePlay as part of the "Life Dreams" update. He spawns on the lot when a Sim dies, performing various animations in front of the dying Sim before spawning an urn or a tombstone.

Appearance in The Sims: Livin' Large
In addition to his appearance when a Sim dies, he will also appear and ring the doorbell if there are more than five Jack-O-Lanterns on the lot, a reference to trick-or-treating. There is a suggested malevolence about him, as can be seen from the results when Sims plead with him. Bonehilda is a huge fan of Grim Reaper, and will try to get an autograph from him when he's present while she's out of her closet. When the Grim Reaper appears, he will move over to the dead Sim and wave his scythe, and any adult Sim can plea with the Grim Reaper and attempt to save the Sim's life. If the Grim Reaper is in a bad mood, the Sim will die regardless. If the Grim Reaper is in a good mood, however, he will challenge the pleading Sim to a game of rock, paper, scissors — if the pleading Sim loses, the dead Sim will be resurrected as a zombie; if they win, however, the Sim will be fully resurrected.

Appearance in The Sims 2
In The Sims 2, the Reaper's appearance is different from that in other games: he is grey and wraithlike rather than skeletal and black. Olive Specter has memories of WooHoo with him and giving birth to Nervous Subject shortly after, though this is impossible in normal gameplay. Through the use of cheats, a biography of him can be seen containing some tongue-in-cheek information. With the University expansion pack, he can be bribed to resurrect dead Sims with the Resurrect-O-Nomitron, which is the career reward for the Paranormal career track. (The question of why he might want or need money is left to the imagination.) If the last Sim on the lot dies, one of a variety of sardonic messages will appear. On occasion, he will interact with one of the items in the house before leaving. So far, he has only been known to get a blended drink from a minibar, watch television, relax on a bed, use the toilet, and/or play on the computer.

When a Sim dies of starvation, fright or by disease, they stand up, wave their hand (if dying by starvation), collapse on their knees and then lie down to a conformable position. The Grim Reaper walks towards the dead body and turns them into a grave.

When Sims die of old age, there are two life endings they can get, based on their aspiration. If they have any aspiration level from failure to green, the Grim Reaper will come with a black trail of smoke, and hold up an empty hourglass, meaning that the Sim has no more time to live. The Sim will then try to grab the hourglass out of Death's hand and try to flip it back over. The Grim Reaper then snatches it back, and angrily points in a direction. The Sim walks there, and an urn or grave (plain grey) is created. If the dying Sim is in gold or platinum aspiration, Death will come wearing a pink Hawaiian lei and will have a white smoke trail. Two Hula Zombies will appear in the room, and relaxing Hawaiian music will play. Death will slowly point at the dying Sim in a non-angry way, and the Sim will back up, and act shy. Death will then hold his arms out as if to hug the Sim, then will give them a tiki glass with a lemon on the side. Then Death will pack the Sim's bags, and the Sim, still being timid, will smile and slowly head off to the afterlife. If the Sim was in platinum aspiration, their urn or grave will be gold and white and will show the symbol for their aspiration.

In general, when two Sims in a household are scheduled to die on the same day, the Grim Reaper will first come for one and will come back later for the other. However, if both members of a married or joined couple are scheduled to die on the same day, he may take both at once.

The Sims 2 (console)
In this version, the Grim Reaper only appears when a Sim has died. Sims cannot plead with him to save their loved ones. He can be only interacted with by ghost Sims. The Sim has an option to challenge him by playing the violin (if the Sim has high creativity, charisma and logic skills and has died in a Platinum mood, he/she has higher chances of winning) or pay him §100 to return to life. In either case, the Sim will be resurrected and the Grim Reaper will burn and disappear.

The Sims 2 (Nintendo DS)
In The Sims 2 for Nintendo DS, the Grim Reaper's appearance is completely different from his usual black robes and scythe. Instead, he wears what appears to be a large brown coat and large brown hat, giving him the look of a ghostly cowboy. It can also be seen that he has yellow eyes. Also, instead of the scythe, he uses a sack to "collect" the dead Sims.

Concept art of him can be unlocked throughout the progress of the game.

Appearance in The Sims 3
The Reaper of The Sims 3 has little backstory and never appears outside of death sequences unless moved in before patch or the player owns The Door Of Life And Death (The Sims 3 Store). There is a statue of him in Pleasant Rest Graveyard in Sunset Valley. His skin tone is midnight black and he wears a black hooded robe. He has a very deep voice, but if moved in he will have voice 1 at an average pitch. The reason for this is unexplained. In this game, a Sim can no longer plead for a deceased Sim's life, but after a certain patch, they will need to play chess with him and win. Wearing certain outfits or making him naked will reveal his black skin tone.

Appearance in The Sims Medieval
The Grim Reaper's entire appearance is changed to fit the "Medieval" theme, such as changing his outfit from the color black to red, giving him small wings, giving him purple hands with long nails instead of the bony ones and re-doing his scythe. When the Reaper appears, he will make the dead Sim's spirit fly into the air. Then, he will disappear by going under the earth, taking the corpse Sim with him. In this game, he cannot be pleaded for a Sim's life.

Appearance in The Sims 4
In The Sims 4, the Grim Reaper has a slightly different physical appearance compared to the previous series. The Grim Reaper wears a black, modern cloak, instead of a torn-down cloak. When reaping the souls, the Grim Reaper no longer has the death list on a piece of paper. Instead, he'll use a tablet where he keeps the death list.

The Sims: Livin' Large
The Grim Reaper will appear in a cloud of skulls next to the mailbox, then walk over to the dying Sim and spend a short amount of time waving his scythe. If the path to the dying Sim is blocked, he will teleport there instead.

During this time another Sim may be directed to approach and plead with him. This option is not available for children. There is around a 50% chance of him accepting the plea, at which point he will play a game of rock-paper-scissors with the pleader. If the Sim loses there is still a 50% chance of him bringing the deceased back to life as a zombie, with their skin-colored green and their personality wiped. Usually, the Grim Reaper will be in a bad mood and turn down the plea, and the Sim will die but they will come back as a ghost, being see-through and greenish-blue and walk around "spooking" Sims and making windy ghost noises.

If Livin' Large is not installed, the Grim Reaper will not appear; instead, the dying Sim will spawn a tombstone automatically.

The Sims 2
The Grim Reaper can be pleaded with as in Livin' Large; however, the chance of success is directly linked to the relationship score of the pleader to the deceased: if the total of the daily and lifetime relationship is below 25, the plea is guaranteed to fail. If it is above that level, the percentage chance of the plea succeeding is equal to that same number, which is capped at 90. If the plea succeeds, the Sim is "Saved From Death", which is frequently a major want for Knowledge Sims. If the death is from old age, the plea interaction will be unavailable. Sims must be able to reach the Grim Reaper to plead with him; if a Sim drowns too far from the edge of a pool, this interaction will not be available.

In University, the Resurrect-O-Nomitron reward from the Paranormal career enables Sims to call the Reaper and pay him to bring back Sims who they have a relationship with. The precise results depend on the payment:


 * A payment of §1 - §987 will cause the resurrection to fail and the money to be lost to no effect.
 * A payment of §988 - §4127 will cause the dead Sim to return as a zombie, losing most of their skill and personality points, and with a negative mood and loss of relationship towards their resurrector.
 * A payment of §4128 - §8512 will cause the dead Sim to return with three points lost from each skill, their personality inverted and a modest relationship boost to their resurrector.
 * A payment of §8513 - §10,000 will result in the deceased Sim returning in perfect condition.
 * If the dead Sim in question is a child, the resurrection will always succeed perfectly regardless of payment, with the Reaper stating that he loves kids. (Children cannot become zombies in The Sims 2.)

In The Sims 2: FreeTime, Sims may ask the genie to give them the power to cheat death. This enables them to plead for their own life with a 100% chance of success the first time, which decreases by 10% with each subsequent attempt. Sims who die of old age will only get an extra day. In The Sims 2: Apartment Life, good witches with Level 9 magic skill and the correct ingredients can cast the Expello Mortis spell to banish the Grim Reaper, saving a dying Sim. Also, an evil witch with 9 Magic skill points and correct ingredients can cast the Vivificus Zombiae spell at the tombstone or urn of a Sim, and the Sim will return as a zombie.

The Sims Life Stories
In The Sims Life Stories, if a Sim successfully saves a Sim from the Grim Reaper, a message from the Grim Reaper will appear at the top right of the screen saying "You intrigue me, mortal, I am going to hang out here for a while to find out how you beat me." The Sim who defeated the Grim Reaper will then greet the Grim Reaper, and then the Grim Reaper will stay at the Sim's house for a while and play chess.

The Sims 2 (console)
All Sims that die will be reborn as ghosts where they can find the Grim Reaper standing at the front of the lot where they can challenge him to a fiddle contest. Sims that have a higher creativity skill and have died when in Platinum mood have a higher chance of winning. If the Sim wins then the Grim Reaper will disappear.

As a ghost, the Sim is more likely to have the aspiration goals of: If the player wishes not to choose the fiddle challenge or simply gives up, they can pay a fee of §100 to return to life.
 * Good: To return to life
 * Bad: To fail the fiddle challenge (to lose against Death).

The Sims 3
The Grim Reaper appears when a Sim or pet dies. However, unlike the previous games, the Grim Reaper will literally "reap" the spirit of the Sim to turn it into a ghost, while the remaining Sims around the household or lot will mourn for him/her. The appearance of this ghost is determined by the way the Sim has died. Unlike previous games, a Sim can no longer plea for the dead Sim's life. However, if a Sim in the household owns a chessboard they may play chess against him to resurrect the dying Sim after a certain patch. The Grim Reaper may have 3-6 logic skill points and 3-6 hidden chess skill points.

If the deceased Sim has a death flower in their inventory, then they will automatically give it to the Grim Reaper shortly after becoming a ghost and their lives will be spared in exchange for the flower. The Grim Reaper will also refuse to take Sims with the unlucky trait who die accidentally, because (according to him) their lives provide too much amusement for himself.

With The Sims 3: Pets, pets can harass the Grim Reaper and save their master. The pet has to be at least best friends with the Sim to do this. There is a 35% chance pets will harass the Grim Reaper, and an additional +10% chance if they have aggressive, loyal, or brave traits; or -10% if they have clueless, lazy, nervous, or skittish traits. A pet cannot save the same Sim from death more than once.

There is a 20% chance that he will stay for a short period of time after he's done with his job and an additional +5% for each Sim that dies on the lot. The maximum chance is 75%. During this time, Sims may hang out and socialize with the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper will behave as if he were a guest; such as watching TV or using the toilet. He will not hang around if the Sim dies in a diving area, however. If a Sim dies from a vending machine, the Grim Reaper may attempt to buy a soda from the vending machine and drink from it. The soda will pass through his body and leave a puddle on the ground which will remain after he leaves.

The Sims Medieval
The Grim Reaper has a totally different appearance in this stand-alone. The Grim Reaper, like in every game, comes to collect the souls of the deceased Sims. However, he doesn't stay around, like he usually does in The Sims 3 and can't be made playable without the use of cheats. His appearance also appears to be very medieval, sporting bright colors along with the robes, a golden belt, and bright red caps.

A promotional picture seen to the right depicts a new Grim Reaper with a red robe, long white hair, black wings, a different scythe, and a belt with a skull and hourglass on it. It is possible that it is the same Grim just dressing to fit the medieval theme of that era, or that he is the ancestor of all of the other Grim Reapers in the series.

The Sims 4
When a Sim dies, the Grim Reaper will appear from a cloud of smoke. He will walk towards the Sim who has died; upon confronting the dead he will consult his tablet, and then proceed to reap the soul out of the Sim and replace the body with an urn or gravestone.

Any living Sims on the lot can attempt to plead with the Grim Reaper in which there is a 33% chance of the Grim Reaper bringing the Sim back to life, or downright rejecting the plea. After the Grim Reaper is finished, there is a chance he may stick around on the lot, in which other Sims can perform social interactions on him. However, romantic interactions generally will not go very far.
 * Sims who are fine or happy can normally plead for the Sim's life when the Grim Reaper appears. If successful, this plea will give the pleading Sim the "Saved Sim from Death" happy moodlet, which lasts for 6 hours.
 * Sims who are confident can demand the Grim Reaper to spare the Sim's life, with a 40% success chance. This increases to 50% if the pleading Sim is very confident. If successful, the pleading Sim will receive the "Commanded Death" confident moodlet, which lasts for 6 hours.
 * Sims who are flirty can seduce the Grim Reaper to spare the Sim's life, with a 10% success chance (Increases to 20% success chance if the pleading Sim is very flirty). If successful, the pleading Sim will gain the "Seduced Death" confident moodlet, which lasts for 6 hours.
 * Sims who are angry can yell at death, which will always be rejected.
 * Sims who are sad can wail about the dying Sim's demise. There is a 30% chance this plea will work, which increases to 33% if the Sim has the gloomy trait, and 36% if the Sim has the gloomy trait and is very sad. The success chance for this plea increases to 40% if the Sim is very sad without the gloomy trait. If successful, the pleading Sim will gain the same moodlet he/she would using the normal plea.
 * Sims with level 5 or more in mischief skill can "Toy with Death" using a voodoo doll. The Grim Reaper will lose the ability to reap Sim's life. Success chance will depend on how many times the Sim toys with Death before Grim decides to reap the dying Sim.
 * Sims can give the Grim Reaper a death flower. This is the only way to guarantee saving a dying Sim's life, and the only method, other than the voodoo doll, that does not grant Sims a moodlet if successful.

The Grim Reaper gives unique answers when asked about career or if single.

Grimwear
Players can dress a Sim as the Grim Reaper by using cheats. While in the neighborhood, bring up the cheat box (press Ctrl+Shift+C) and type "boolProp testingcheatsenabled true" without quotes. Then go to Create-A-Sim mode and press Shift+N. This will activate CAS Debugging Mode (a message says so in the top right corner of the screen). Press Shift+M to remove CAS Debug Mode. The Grim Reaper suit should be at the end of "everyday clothing" in outfits. The player can even make them in the "Hula Zombie" outfit that appears when a Sim dies of old age with a high aspiration bar.

Strange genetics
Using the Tombstone of Life and Death, Sims can become pregnant by Grim Reaper. The strange thing is that the child will often have light skin, light blue eyes, black hair and the 2nd face in CAS. It is even stranger in the case of Nervous Subject, who has strange genetics. Some players believe that Nervous is not even the Grim Reaper's son because his genetics are much different than Grim's.

Move in
It is possible to "Move In" the Grim Reaper into the active household without the use of any cheats or tools. What one needs is to build a relationship high enough with Grim Reaper when he lingers on the lot (this does not happen often) and ask him to move in. It's good to have the Legendary Host lifetime reward. He cannot be married and must be moved in. Having the charismatic trait, maxed charisma, charisma challenges completed or the Never Dull lifetime reward can be very helpful here, as he disappears from the relationship panel when he leaves. Having the unlucky or loser traits makes summoning him repeatedly much easier, otherwise, the player will only have one chance.

Another way to move in the Grim Reaper is to enable testingcheatsenabled, shift-click on the mailbox, make the selected Sim know everyone, and then invite the Grim Reaper over via the relationship panel. When he arrives, shift-click on him and add him to the current household. He will not be called the Grim Reaper and will simply become a regular Sim with black skin tone.

Take note that once he is moved in he will disappear; this can be fixed by enabling testingcheatsenabled, shift-clicking anywhere in the world, and selecting "Teleport Here". He will have the first voice setting with an average pitch due to the fact that he was generated like a new townie. Players can use cheats to change his voice to a lower pitch by sending him back into Create a Sim.

If The Sims 3: Late Night or later is installed, the Grim Reaper can no longer be moved in.

Sim/Grim Reaper hybrids
It is possible in games patched below version 1.3 to try for a baby with the Grim Reaper without him being a family member: after patch 1.3 the Grim Reaper must be a family member for such relations to be possible.

Hybrids in The Sims 3 can have totally black skin due to the Grim Reaper's unique genetics. The Grim Reaper can be added to the household by having a high relationship with him and asking him to move in. With testing cheats, the players can drag the Sim's relationship with the Grim Reaper to maximum instantly. After that, Sims can try to seduce the Grim Reaper until trying for baby interaction is available.

With the Door of Life and Death premium content from TheSims3.com, it is possible to summon a Grim Reaper, build up a relationship with him, and then try for baby with him. However, the Grim Reaper from the door is just a regular generated Sim, disguised with the Grim Reaper outfit. Trying for baby with them does not make the Sim's offspring a Grim Reaper hybrid.

Move in
The Grim Reaper can be moved into a household to get permanent control of him by enabling testingcheatsenabled, shift-clicking on him, and then making him a spouse of the currently selected Sim. His hunger and energy motives will not deplete and will be treated as a villager that does not fight. He will usually possess the evil or morose traits; his second trait will usually be randomized.

Move in
The Grim Reaper can be moved into a household via testingcheatsenabled. Simply enable the cheat, shift+click on the Grim Reaper before he leaves, and click "Add to Family"; this will allow the player to control him. When controllable, players are able to build up his romance bar, as he will be treated as a regular Sim. It is not possible to try for a baby with him. The Grim Reaper can't do some basic actions like sleeping, and instead of walking he will "hover" towards his destination. None of his needs except social and fun decay, so he does not need to sleep, wash, eat or use the toilet. He's also unable to feel sad emotion and any moodlet causing sadness will disappear.

Playable Grim Reapers cannot be selected as a part of the group during meetings, if a Grim Reaper from a household is currently on another lot, it cannot be ordered to come to current lot unless teleported with modifications or selected on it's current lot and ordered to travel, however, Grim Reapers can be invited by non-household sims through a phone, and Grim Reaper himself can invite other sims on a meeting through a phone.

If a Sim dies after the Grim Reaper is added to a household using testingcheatsenabled, an additional Grim Reaper will be spawned to reap their soul. The new Grim Reaper can also be added to the household, and this process can be repeated to create a household with up to 8 Grim Reapers. Each Grim Reaper will have at least one trait and a random aspiration.

In The Sims 4, unlike in other Sims games, adding the Grim Reaper to a household will not cause any issues in the game.

Trivia

 * Although appearing in almost all games, he was replaced by different characters in several games. In The Urbz: Sims in the City for console, he was replaced with Captain Catastrophe, who will, rather than take the life, save the Sim with shock pads. In The Sims Bustin' Out, The Urbz, The Sims 2, and The Sims 2 Pets for the portables, he is replaced with a genie, who will save the Sim, although he laughs at their misery first.
 * In The Sims 2, there is only one Grim Reaper, and the game will not regenerate him if he is moved in or married into a household. This will also cause game corruption in The Sims 2.
 * In all Sims games except for The Sims 4, the Grim Reaper will not react to a fire. However, in some rare cases in The Sims 3, he will stay and put out the fire.

The Sims

 * In The Sims: Superstar, the Grim Reaper won't come if a Sim dies in the Skydiving Simulator.
 * In The Sims, if the Grim Reaper comes during a fire, it is possible for him to catch on fire, wherein the game will temporarily treat him as a normal Sim and he may perform the panic animation, and even die. If he does, the player can briefly see him in a dark, naked human skin, still wearing his hood. He will immediately respawn a few tiles away, though, and return to reaping Sims.

The Sims 2

 * In The Sims 2, his favorite band, Styx, is a real-life progressive rock band, whose name is a reference to the river in the underworld of Greek mythology.
 * The Grim Reaper is a universal NPC, meaning he is the same in all neighborhoods. Like other universal NPCs, he should not be added to the family, bitten by a vampire, or interacted with in some other way outside his designated in-game purpose. Doing so can cause game corruption, fixed only by uninstalling and reinstalling the game.
 * On one of the Grim Reaper dialogues, it states the Grim Reaper's zodiac sign is a Taurus; however, according to the game files, his sign is actually Cancer.
 * The Grim Reaper will have a random aspiration if he is added to a playable household using cheats, and the household is saved, exited, and reloaded. The same occurrence happens with the Hula Zombie. However, this is strongly NOT recommended, as it can cause game corruption.
 * The Grim Reaper's interests are different in each neighborhood. It should be noted that when viewing SimPE, he may not always have interests.
 * Under examination through SimPE, the Grim Reaper has 4 days left until he becomes an elder.
 * In earlier releases of The Sims 2, Strangetown Grim Reaper was a "female". This error was corrected in later releases and expansion packs.
 * In The Sims 2, despite being a male, the Grim Reaper has the appearance of a female, which can be proven by changing his appearance with the NPC and Townie Maker. However, this is strongly NOT recommended, as it can cause game corruption.
 * In The Sims 2 for consoles, a Sim can play the violin against the Grim Reaper. This is a reference to the song Devil Went Down to Georgia.
 * He has top fitness. But his fit body flag has not been set. The same happens with all universal NPCs.

The Sims 3

 * In The Sims 3, a Sim can play chess with the Grim Reaper to resurrect the dying Sim. This is a reference to the movie The Seventh Seal or making a deal with Lord Loss from Darren Shan's Demonata.
 * If one tries to experiment on him by using "testingcheatsenabled true" and uses the Trigger Age Transition, he will grow to be an adult but will not change appearance.
 * The Grim Reaper is not initially built-into a world, but is created by the game just after the player starts a new save.
 * The Grim Reaper may have either peanut butter and jelly, tri-tip steak, or hot dogs as his favorite food, even though it's not normally possible to view this in-game.
 * Sims with the Observant lifetime reward can sometimes find out his traits. However, there are multiple versions of the Grim Reaper that can visit a lot, all with different personalities. He will often possess traits that encourage mean or peculiar interactions, such as evil, mean spirited, inappropriate or insane.
 * When using the Door of Life And Death, challenging the Grim Reaper to a guitar duel may be a reference to the guitar duel scene in Tenacious D's Pick of Destiny.
 * The Grim Reaper only appears to have one outfit, because if he goes swimming or it gets cold out, he doesn't change his outfit. This can only be witnessed if he stops floating, although the player can change his clothes at a dresser and change his hair at a mirror, his skin is completely black.
 * In The Sims 3: Late Night, a vampire may offer to bite him, but he won't turn into a vampire or get the special moodlet.
 * In The Sims 3: Pets, the Grim Reaper gives some love to the pets that recently died before sending them to Netherworld.
 * In The Sims 3: Pets trailer, the Grim Reaper is seen riding a horse and leaving through a portal. This happens when a horse dies. The Grim Reaper basically swishes his scythe and jumps onto the ghost horse and vanishes, much like how he vanishes the other ghosts. This is also shown in Pets cover.
 * In The Sims 3: Seasons, Sims can make a Grim Reaper snowman.
 * In The Sims 3, the music that plays when the Grim Reaper comes is similar to the Imperial March from Star Wars.

The Sims 4

 * The Grim Reaper has a note chained onto his waist. This may be a reference to Ryuk in the Death Note Japanese manga series.
 * The Grim Reaper has a skeleton freezer bunny tied to his waist.
 * The Grim Reaper may pet or play with a cowplant on the lot after a Sim has died.
 * If the player pauses the game while the camera is locked on the Grim Reaper, there is a chance eerie music will play even though the game is paused.
 * If the Grim Reaper is starved for several days, once his hunger bar reaches the lowest limit, he will fetch a biscuit from his bag and eat it, restoring his hunger bar. This way, it is impossible to starve the Grim Reaper to death. This also happens to pregnant Sims.
 * When coming to reap a Sim's soul, the Grim Reaper has a tablet. This could be a reference to the depiction of the god of death Thanatos in The Son of Neptune, the second novel in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.
 * The Grim Reaper possesses the hidden trait trait_isGrimReaper rendering him immune to death in any form.

Gallery

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