Grim Reaper
- For other meanings of "reaper", please see reaper (disambiguation).
- See also: Lesser death
The image of death itself, the Grim Reaper aims to bring death to the planes of the Great Beyond. It is believed to be served by lesser deaths, which resemble weaker versions of itself.2345
Appearance
The Grim Reaper resembles a skeletal being robed in black and wielding a large scythe. An hourglass hangs from a chain around its waist.6
Abilities
The Grim Reaper exudes ill fortune, and any creature it kills cannot be resurrected except through divine intervention. Any scythe it wields is infused with its power and can drain the vitality from its victims.5
While the Grim Reaper bears some qualities of undeath, such as being restored by void energy, it can unnaturally decide when it does so.6
Ecology
The Grim Reaper is an agent of Abaddon, and is theorized to be a possible manifestation of the First Rider, also known as the Bound Prince. While mortal folklore sometimes refers to those near their natural deaths encountering the Grim Reaper6—sometimes being confused with scythe-wielding, skeletal vanth psychopomps7—the Reaper's true purpose is to hunt and murder mortals.6
Theories and legends
Scholars believe the Reaper's role is to bring about the end of existence and elimination of all life, leaving it the lord of an empty reality. Some scholars also theorize that at least nine Grim Reapers might exist, working as a council toward entropy's end.6
Legends suggest the star gun Ghosthand's Comet was wielded by Ghosthand Xotlana in a failed duel against the Grim Reaper in the deserts of Tazuni. The gun can be destroyed only by the swing of the Reaper's scythe as part of its killing blow against the gun's wielder.8
Other legends suggest the grimoire known as Dullahan Codex belongs to a dullahan whose head was claimed by the Grim Reaper,9 and that the only way to destroy a deck of many things is to fool the Grim Reaper into drawing its Skull card.10
References
For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.
- ↑ . “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 196. Paizo Inc., 2019
- ↑ . “Bestiary” in Shadows of Gallowspire, 86. Paizo Inc., 2011
- ↑ Paizo referred to the Grim Reaper generically as a type of creature, rather than as a unique individual, prior to the publication of Monster Core.
- ↑ . “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary, 197. Paizo Inc., 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 . “Grim Reaper” in Monster Core, 184–185. Paizo Inc., 2024
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 . “Grim Reaper” in Monster Core, 184. Paizo Inc., 2024
- ↑ . “Monsters A-Z” in Bestiary 2, 210. Paizo Inc., 2020
- ↑ . “Gamemaster's Trove” in Treasure Vault, 179. Paizo Inc., 2023
- ↑ . “Gamemaster's Trove” in Treasure Vault, 191. Paizo Inc., 2023
- ↑ . “2: Tools” in Gamemastery Guide, 108. Paizo Inc., 2020
External links
- Death (personification) (real-life mythical entity) on Wikipedia