Fear the Reaper

Fear the Reaper is a trait in Fallout Tactics.

Effects
You have cheated death! You gain perks more quickly as though you were still alive. Unfortunately you are now on death's short list! Your Perk Rate is reduced by 1 (the lower the perk rate, the more often you get perks), but you also have your HP reduced to a very low amount every time you level up. Ghoul only.

This trait will enable your ghoul recruits (if you have them, that is) to gain perks at the same rate as Human recruits (without Divine Favor and without Skilled trait), every 3 levels.

If you have this trait then the message "the Reaper's scythe smacked (character) around" will appear during level-ups and the character will suffer some damage. It is possible for a character to die this way.

Behind the scenes
The name is most likely a reference to the song "(Don't Fear) the Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult.