Every day is a grave new adventure with the Sims 4 Life & Death expansion pack! This is especially true for Sims who hone their thanatology skill. Everything you need to know about it is included in this post – enjoy!
What is Thanatology?
Thanatology is the study of death and any related events. This includes the process of grieving before and after a loved one’s death as well as end of life care. In the Sims 4 Life & Death, the thanatology skill is added alongside new forms of grief, heartfelt funerals and playable ghosts. Together they provide new gameplay that combines the addition of the afterlife and the curiosity of the living about it.
Thanatology Skill Levels in the Sims 4 (What You Unlock At Each Level)
| Skill Level | Rewards |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | Ability to gain the thanatology skill |
| Level 2 | Access to more literature |
| Purchase a Voodoo doll | |
| Level 3 | More Voodoo doll abilities |
| Speak the dialect of Death | |
| Level 4 | Ability to source Grim for deeper learnings |
| Mortuary benefits | |
| Level 5 | Afterlife delights |
| Ability to Toy with Death |
How to Gain Thanatology Skill in the Sims 4
Actions linked to Thanatology skill increase will be marked with the purple icon as shown in the image below.
1. Read Theories on a Computer
On the computer there’s an option to select “Read Theories on…”. Proceed to click on any of the options to increase your Sim’s thanatology skill.
2. Read Thanatology Skill Books
Purchase a Thanatology Skill Book by clicking on any bookcase (or computer) in game and select the “buy a book” option. To easily find the book that you want, filter the books in the dropdown menu to only show “Skill” books. Purchase the appropriate volume and get reading!
- Vol. 1: Mortal Mortality (Beginner) for levels 1 to 3 (75 simoleons)
- Vol. 2: Handbook for the Recently Expired (Intermediate) for levels 4 to 6 (150 simoleons)
- Vol. 3: Piercing the Veil (Advanced) for levels 7 to 9 (250 simoleons)
3. Join Reaper Career
Find a job via the Business category in your sim’s phone. Then, select to join the Reaper career. Along with active work days that will increase your sim’s thanatology skill slowly, this career might just have the best work outfit of all!
4. Look Up Historical Deaths
Once your sim has at least level one of the thanatology skill, there will be an option when selecting bookcases to “Look Up Historical Deaths”. Your sim’s skill will increase as they carry out this activity.
5. Complete Thanatology labelled Social Interactions
Have your sim complete any social interactions marked by the purple Thanatology skill icon to increase their knowledge of the immortal world.
6. Do Voodoo
Use a computer to purchase a Voodoo Doll under the “Order” category. It will cost your sim 850 simoleons. If you need to cheat for more simoleons in the household, then I recommend checking out this money cheats post (includes kaching, motherlode and more).
Voodoo dolls will be added to your sim’s inventory, then all you need to do is click on them to perform voodoo to increase your sim’s thanatology skill!
7. Sit in on Skill Class (requires the Sims 4 Discover University)
Select the “Sit in on Skill Class” option under the Business category in your Sim’s phone. It will cost 250 simoleons and your sim will disappear into a rabbit hole for a few hours to increase their thanatology skill.
8. Use Research Machine (requires the Sims 4 Discover University)
Research machines can be found in the university commons, at the Britechester library or can be bought from buy mode (they are very expensive to buy!). Your sim can research thanatology using this machine to increase their skill.
How to Gain the Thanatology Skill Faster
Listed below are a few different ways that Sims can gain the thanatology skill quickly:
- Be Focused: Listen to focus music, ponder moves on a chess table, use a telescope, be in presence of an object with its emotional aura enabled, or study a fossil.
- Like Thanatology: Modify your Sim’s likes and dislikes in CAS (use this cheat!)
- Live in a Tier 1 or 2 sized tiny house (requires The Sims 4 Tiny Living): Gain all skills faster on this lot type!
- Purchase the “Thanatology Boost” Club Perk (requires The Sims 4 Get Together): Join or create a club and then with 400 club points you can purchase the Thanatology Boost club perk which will increase the speed your sim gains the baking skill during active club gatherings.
Helpful Traits
- Overachiever (requires The Sims 4 High School Years)
- Practice Makes Perfect (new skill from the 2024 Summer log in rewards)
Helpful Reward Potions and Reward Traits
- Focused Potion (200 satisfaction points)
- Morning Sim (1,000 satisfaction points)
- Night Owl (1,000 satisfaction points)
- Savant (4,000 satisfaction points)
Master the Thanatology Skill Instantly
You can cheat to max your sim’s thanatology skill by typing stats.set_skill_level minor_thanatology 5 into the cheat text box. Remember to enable cheats first! Find more detailed instructions in the thanatology skill cheat post.
What is the Thanatology Skill Useful for in the Sims 4?
Careers that Require the Thanatology Skill
Reaper career
Undertaker career
Aspirations that Require the Thanatology Skill
Ghost Historian (requires thanatology skill level 3)
Final Whisperings
Whether you are curious about the afterlife or mourning the dead, the thanatology skill is a special new addition to the Sims 4. I hope this post answered all of your questions about it, but if not don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!
Happy simming!
Great post!
Thanks!