How Celtic Folklore Inspired the Final Fantasy 14 Reaper Class

gamerant.com:

Final Fantasy 14's Endwalker expansion introduced a new DPS job, Reaper. The physical melee class uses a massive scythe to attack enemies and can use a voidsent avatar to give them powerful abilities. According to Final Fantasy 14's lore, the class was founded by Garlean farmers who were driven away from their homelands and had to bind themselves to voidsent for survival.

There is no doubt that the reaper class was inspired by the Grim Reaper, but there is more to the Grim Reaper than meets the eye. The figure known throughout popular culture today is an amalgamation of different folklore from around the world. Celtic folklore especially played a part. To understand the cultural roots behind Final Fantasy 14's Reaper, one has to look at Celtic folklore figures like Ankou.

Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds Could Learn From Final Fantasy 14's Success

The first folkloric figure worth examining in terms of Reapers is the Ankou. In Breton, Cornish, Welsh, and Norman-French folklore, Ankou is a servant of death. Just like Final Fantasy 14's Reaper gear, Ankou is said to wear a black robe and large hat that hides his face. Of course, he also has the massive and iconic scythe. There are extra details that have little to do with Final Fantasy 14's Reaper as well. For example, Ankou is said to have had a cart pulled by four black horses

Ankou seems to be the most likeFinal Fantasy 14's Reapers, but Celtic folklore actually has many figures associated with death. Another is known as Dullhan, but it exists as a headless horseman that holds its own head and uses a whip rather than a scythe. There are also Banshees, which are female spirits that wail to alert an oncoming death. Not all are even humanoid, with one folktale being an enormous hound