Even Sims can't escape the inevitability of death. However, unlike several other online games where death has serious consequences, death in The Sims Online is either a minor inconvenience or a ripping good time. It all depends on your perspective.

There are four ways a Sim can cross over to the spiritual world. If a Sim is deprived of food, he or she will die of starvation. This is the slowest manner of death, taking upwards of eight real life hours to succumb. A Sim can drown if she or he is low on energy and falls asleep in a swimming pool. Depending on the property category and energy level, this method can take up to two hours. Sims can also be electrocuted while repairing electric devices, such as lamps or stereos. Sims with little or no Mechanical skill are more likely to die this way than Sims with high Mechanical skills. The fourth and final way to perish is to be in the vicinity of an exploding robot at the factory.

Regardless of which method causes your Sim to meet his or her untimely end, a funeral dirge will play and either an urn (if you are indoors) or a headstone (if you are outdoors) will appear where your Sim once stood. Friends and family can grieve for your loss and even you can mourn your own demise by clicking on the death marker.

You will also receive a pop-up message confirming your death and your Sim will now appear as a ghost.

As soon as your Sim dies, his or her motives will begin to plummet. Any attempt to replenish your needs will be futile as your motives will fall again as soon as they are fulfilled. If you have unlocked skills, your low motives will cause your skills to decay rapidly.

Ghostly Sims are unable to climb stairs or use elevators and cannot use any objects. If you are on your own property, you will not be able to access the Buy or Build Modes while you are dead. Your controls are limited to those of a visitor, including not being able to remove or replace anything to your inventory. This can become a serious problem if you have pets out on the property. You will need to have a roommate return your pets to their carriers for you or be restored to life quickly.

Being dead in TSO isn't all bad news. As a ghost you now have two additional emotes that are only available to the deceased, in addition to your regular self-emotes. "Examine Cause of Death" and "Headless Haunt" may help you understand your life on the other side.

Regular interactions with living Sims are unavailable to you as a ghost, but "Spook" and "Possess" are sure to make their Sim skins crawl. If you are in the company of other deceased Sims, you can use your full range of interactions with each other. There is nothing quite like a Deathly Disco dance or a Spectral Sissy Fight.

If being dead isn't your thing, you have two options to rise from the dead.. The first way is by waiting 24 Sim hours. This time must be spent online and your Sim must be on a property. If you time out or change properties, your "death clock" is reset. Logging out for the evening or hanging around in map view will not count towards your waiting period. At the end of the 24 Sim hours, you will receive a pop-up asking if you would like to be automatically revived or if you would like to spend another 24 hours as an ethereal being.

The second way to come back to life is by having a Shaman (or Shawoman) revive you. Shamans are Sims with at least eight skill points in both Cooking and Charisma. The best place to find a Shaman is in the Services category, but if none are available, you can also pay a visit to your local Charisma or Cooking skill property. Once you have found your Shaman, he or she will direct you to an open area and perform the Dance of Revitalization around you until you have been restored to life. The green progress bar above your head indicates how much of the revivification process has been completed.

Once your Sim life have been re-established, your Sim will regain his or her normal appearance and your motives will be restored to 50%. Just fill your needs back up and you will be ready to return to Simland, where you can tell everyone about your vacation on the other side.