How I resurrected an NPC ghost
A sim's boyfriend died recently. He was a non-played household, living alone in world. Usually I just play through these situations as they arise, but I liked the quirkiness of this sim, and he died right before I was planning to try the new Science Baby option, so I decided to have a go at resurrecting him without any cheats.
There's a lot of conflicting information out there, some of it outdated, so let me share what I learned.
Packs I have that helped: Get Together, Cottage Living, Island Living
Packs I don't have which may make a difference: Seasons, Realm of Magic
How to find your NPC ghost
Some facts about NPC/Townie Ghosts that make this tricky:
However!
NPC ghosts CAN be invited to non-goaled events, such as the Dance Party from the Get Together expansion pack.
If you want to add them to your household, the dialogue to do so will appear AFTER the event has ended. They will hang around on the lot for a bit even if you end the event early.
Resurrection Options
After discovering that you can't make a Science Baby with ghosts (same as you can't try for baby with them) - my next goal was to resurrect them.
Although my sim was a bestselling author, the Book of Life cannot be bound to ghosts. It has to be bound to a sim before they die.
So my only option was to get the ghost to eat Ambrosia.
There are other guides out there that explain the recipe and requirements for Ambrosia, so I won't go into great detail, except to explain what worked and what didn't.
Getting the Death Flower
This doesn't grow in the wild. Gardening and grafting this can be time consuming. I was able to fast track this process by visiting the market stalls in Finchwick (Cottage Living expansion pack). Pomegranate was $150 from the grocery shopkeeper, the Orchard was a pricey $1125 from the garden shop. If they don't appear as options right away, store items will refresh the following day. Items for sale don't reset if you travel away/back to Finchwick, I tried.
My sim was living in an apartment, so while I could grow the Orchard indoors, I couldn't grow a pomegranate tree at home, so I made use of a Community Space (Eco Lifestyle), but this made for slow growing, as your sim needs to keep visiting the lot for the plants to grow. One other important thing to note with gardening on a community lot, is that if you try to plant a pomegranate on a plot that has other plants it won't take and you'll lose the fruit. So keep an eye on where the NPCs are planting around you. This won't happen at home.
Angelfish
This was the biggest pain. A lot of outdated guides cite Willow Creek, but I fished there for days with no luck. I have a feeling that the packs you have installed may affect Angelfish locations. After trying a few different spots, I settled for the island on Mua Pel'Am (Island Living expansion pack). There were probably other places, but this a nice place to spend the time. I was able to get an Angelfish after a day or two of fishing. You don't need bait for the Angelfish. Also, the Neon Angelfish is not the same thing.
How to get the Ghost to Eat Ambrosia
My original plan was to keep the ghost as an NPC. With the Ambrosia in her inventory, my sim put on her party shoes, and hit the Dance Party. But I quickly discovered that ghosts will not eat the Ambrosia on their own. You have to invite them to your household and direct them to eat it.
And very importantly, I also discovered - after ending the dance party and inviting them to my household - that if they eat the Ambrosia right then and there, on another lot it, will have no effect. The ghost must be on the home lot for the Ambrosia to work.
This meant we had to go fishing again! But thankfully now with two sims in the household, it didn't take too long to get another Angelfish. And finally (finally!) after returning home from the island, more Ambrosia was made, and the NPC ghost (now a family member) was once again amongst the living.
There's a lot of conflicting information out there, some of it outdated, so let me share what I learned.
Packs I have that helped: Get Together, Cottage Living, Island Living
Packs I don't have which may make a difference: Seasons, Realm of Magic
How to find your NPC ghost
Some facts about NPC/Townie Ghosts that make this tricky:
- There's no tombstone - not on their old lot, not in their inventory, nowhere.
- Aren't in Manage Households - you can't merge them into a family or move them into a lot.
- Can't be invited to lots - you can't call them on the phone.
- Can't be added to Clubs or Organisations - as awesome as Ghost Club would be it's not a thing.
- Can't attend Goaled Parties - there's no option to invite them to a Dinner Party.
- Even with the Spooky lot trait, the chances of them visiting will be so rare that it's not worth exploring that option.
However!
NPC ghosts CAN be invited to non-goaled events, such as the Dance Party from the Get Together expansion pack.
If you want to add them to your household, the dialogue to do so will appear AFTER the event has ended. They will hang around on the lot for a bit even if you end the event early.
Resurrection Options
After discovering that you can't make a Science Baby with ghosts (same as you can't try for baby with them) - my next goal was to resurrect them.
Although my sim was a bestselling author, the Book of Life cannot be bound to ghosts. It has to be bound to a sim before they die.
So my only option was to get the ghost to eat Ambrosia.
There are other guides out there that explain the recipe and requirements for Ambrosia, so I won't go into great detail, except to explain what worked and what didn't.
Getting the Death Flower
This doesn't grow in the wild. Gardening and grafting this can be time consuming. I was able to fast track this process by visiting the market stalls in Finchwick (Cottage Living expansion pack). Pomegranate was $150 from the grocery shopkeeper, the Orchard was a pricey $1125 from the garden shop. If they don't appear as options right away, store items will refresh the following day. Items for sale don't reset if you travel away/back to Finchwick, I tried.
My sim was living in an apartment, so while I could grow the Orchard indoors, I couldn't grow a pomegranate tree at home, so I made use of a Community Space (Eco Lifestyle), but this made for slow growing, as your sim needs to keep visiting the lot for the plants to grow. One other important thing to note with gardening on a community lot, is that if you try to plant a pomegranate on a plot that has other plants it won't take and you'll lose the fruit. So keep an eye on where the NPCs are planting around you. This won't happen at home.
Angelfish
This was the biggest pain. A lot of outdated guides cite Willow Creek, but I fished there for days with no luck. I have a feeling that the packs you have installed may affect Angelfish locations. After trying a few different spots, I settled for the island on Mua Pel'Am (Island Living expansion pack). There were probably other places, but this a nice place to spend the time. I was able to get an Angelfish after a day or two of fishing. You don't need bait for the Angelfish. Also, the Neon Angelfish is not the same thing.
How to get the Ghost to Eat Ambrosia
My original plan was to keep the ghost as an NPC. With the Ambrosia in her inventory, my sim put on her party shoes, and hit the Dance Party. But I quickly discovered that ghosts will not eat the Ambrosia on their own. You have to invite them to your household and direct them to eat it.
And very importantly, I also discovered - after ending the dance party and inviting them to my household - that if they eat the Ambrosia right then and there, on another lot it, will have no effect. The ghost must be on the home lot for the Ambrosia to work.
This meant we had to go fishing again! But thankfully now with two sims in the household, it didn't take too long to get another Angelfish. And finally (finally!) after returning home from the island, more Ambrosia was made, and the NPC ghost (now a family member) was once again amongst the living.
