Reaper

Reapers (死神 shinigami?, "death god" in the original version) are a type of administrator in the Game. They are identified by the black wings on their back, which are a manifestation of their supernatural powers. Reapers are recruited from Players who have survived previous runs of the game. Any such player, provided they are strong enough, may choose to become a Reaper if they wish. Reapers are able to move between the Realground and the Underground without anybody really noticing. While on the RG, reapers do not possess their wings and cannot use their powers. Reapers are permitted to live normal lives on the RG within certain constraints, although they must report for duty in the UG whenever required. The lifespan of a Reaper is determined by the number of Players they successfully Erase (their "Score"). Reapers can also be Erased by players as part of the game. A new Reaper has around a 2 week lifespan in which to erase their first Player. The majority of Reapers are eventually erased before they can rise very high in the organisation, either directly by Players or by their lifespan running out. All Reapers have the power to create Noise. Reapers have their own pins which they use to create different forms of Noise; they must also make use of a resource called "Soul". Most Noise will not attack players who have a Pact. Taboo Noise, however, freely attack anybody, Player or Reaper. Reapers can instantly erase any Noise that they themselves created. Reapers can make Pacts and work together like players; they can also project their Shadow onto the alternate plane to fight Noise - or groups of players - alone, but they are less effective in this case. All Reapers are forbidden from attacking players directly except in exceptional circumstances. One such exceptional circumstance is an Emergency Call (EC) - an alert to an event that affects the safety of the entire Game. In this case, all Reapers - even Support Reapers - may directly engage players. The symbol for the Reapers is a very stylized skull and crossbones, the crossbones showing up on two pins throughout the game. Reapers are subdivided into three broad categories: officers, harriers, and support.

Support
Support Reapers are the lowest ranking Reapers. They create challenges within the game exactly as instructed by the Game Master. Usually, this involves maintaining special walls separating the different districts of Shibuya, informing players of the requirements to destroy certain walls, and lowering the walls when the requirements are met. Like all Reapers, they have the power to create Noise, but usually only as part of the challenges required to remove walls.

Harrier
Harrier reapers are mid-ranking reapers who are permitted to act independently (within a few constraints) in order to erase Players during the game. Usually, the Game Master will specify when and where Harriers may act. Due to the rule that Reapers may not normally attack players directly, Harriers must summon Noise or Heartless to attack the players. The Harrier reapers in the game are 777, Uzuki Yashiro and Kōki Kariya.It is possible for a new Reaper to join directly as a Harrier.

Officer
Officers are the highest-ranking Reapers in the Game. They organize and supervise the entire Game. There are multiple different ranks of Officers. Reapers earn the rank of Officer by successfully erasing players and behaving well in the games.


 * Game master-the Reaper responsible for a single run of the game. His or her duty is to set up each day of the game he or she sets the mission, briefs the Harriers on their activities for the day, determines which routes in the city will be available and briefs Support reapers on the positioning and rules for Walls that day. On the last day of the game, the Game Master must fight the players directly: this is the only normal case when a Reaper may attack players directly. Usually, the Game Master will specify only that the players must defeat him, triumphing in a limited combat, but he or she takes the risk that the players may go further and actually erase him or her.


 * Conductor-the Conductor is the highest ranking Reaper officer. He or she oversees the entire running of the game, according to the wishes of the Composer. He or she also organises the lower ranking Reapers and is responsible for recruiting and managing new Reapers. It is also his duty to deal with collecting entry fees and dealing with the surviving Players at the end of each game. The Conductor has the power to collect entry fees from exiting players, and in order to earn the rank of Conductor they must also have been a powerful combatant. However, he or she alone does not have the power to restore a Player to life. Like the rank of Game Master, a Reaper earns the rank of Conductor through good performance.