Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Dr. Ben discusses character death in ttrpgs (Episode #184). #dnd #pathfinder #ttrpg #wfrp
Website rpgphd.com
Discord discord.gg/e49rJVQCwW
RPG PHD swag!!! rpg-phd.myspreadshop.com
Facebook facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089593636905
Instagram instagram.com/rpg_phd
Bluesky @rpg-phd.bsky.social
Special thanks to Evelina for the thumbnail template, much appreciated!! 😊
Why this grief is psychologically real, why a beloved character can start to feel as real as a friend, what actors already know about exiting a role cleanly, where this research gets misapplied, and a full step-by-step guide for running a character's death at the table.
Full source list linked below. Drop a comment with how your table has handled a character's death, we're collecting these for a future video.
TTRPG, tabletop RPG, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, character death, character loss, grief psychology, parasocial relationships, parasocial grief, disenfranchised grief, continuing bonds, narrative transportation, de-roling, drama therapy, bleed larp, tabletop gaming, GM tips, dungeon master advice, game master, roleplaying psychology, psychology of grief, TTRPG psychology, character retirement, worldbuilding, campaign design, RPG theory, tabletop community, actor training, grief theory, meaning reconstruction, dual process model, DnD tips, homebrew campaign, session zero
---------------------------------------------
00:00 Intro
01:16 Why the Grief is Real
07:22 How Real is a Character
14:47 Leaving a Character
19:05 Greif Models
23:23 Pitfalls
26:00 Step by Step Guide
30:46 Thoughts?
--------------------------------------------
Works Cited
Bailey, Sally, and Daijah Porchia. "De-Roling from Experiences and Identities in Virtual Worlds." K-State Research Exchange, Kansas State University, 2014.
Boss, Emily Care. "Romance and Gender in Role Playing Games: Too Hot to Handle?" Presentation, Ropecon, Helsinki, 2007.
Bowman, Sarah Lynne. "Bleed: The Spillover Between Player and Character." Nordic Larp, 2 Mar. 2015, nordiclarp.org/2015/03/02/bleed-the-spillover-between-player-and-character/.
Broom, Timothy W., Robert S. Chavez, and Dylan D. Wagner. "Becoming the King in the North: Identification with Fictional Characters Is Associated with Greater Self-Other Neural Overlap." Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 16, no. 6, 2021, pp. 541–51.
Cohen, Jonathan. "Defining Identification: A Theoretical Look at the Identification of Audiences with Media Characters." Mass Communication & Society, vol. 4, no. 3, 2001, pp. 245–64.
Doka, Kenneth J. Disenfranchised Grief: Recognizing Hidden Sorrow. Lexington Books, 1989.
Eyal, Keren, and Jonathan Cohen. "When Good Friends Say Goodbye: A Parasocial Breakup Study." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 50, no. 3, 2006, pp. 502–23.
Gardner, Wendi L., and Megan L. Knowles. "Love Makes You Real: Favorite Television Characters Are Perceived as 'Real' in a Social Facilitation Paradigm." Social Cognition, vol. 26, no. 2, 2008, pp. 156–68.
Green, Melanie C., and Timothy C. Brock. "The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 79, no. 5, 2000, pp. 701–21.
Johnson, David Read, and Renée Emunah, editors. Current Approaches in Drama Therapy. 2nd ed., Charles C. Thomas, 2009.
Klass, Dennis, et al., editors. Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief. Taylor & Francis, 1996.
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. Macmillan, 1969.
Lassken, Savannagh. "Persona Non Grata: A Systematic Review of De-Roling in Drama Therapy." Drama Therapy Review, vol. 3, no. 2, 2017, pp. 165–78.
Neimeyer, Robert A. Meaning Reconstruction and the Experience of Loss. American Psychological Association, 2001.
Snodgrass, Jeffrey G., et al. "Tabletop Role-Playing Games as Drama Therapy in the Wild: Developing Personal Bonds with Characters Improves Players' Self-Concepts." Transcultural Psychiatry, 2026, doi:10.1177/13634615261418363.
Music and Sounds:
epidemicsound.com/track/Erdns8jA3D
epidemicsound.com/track/MRyCi54t7M
epidemicsound.com/track/AQBpWzOsID
epidemicsound.com/track/yCvSWOBYUe
Music: creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0
epidemicsound.com/track/c0X3Z8H8uZ
epidemicsound.com/track/yCvSWOBYUe
Music: creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0
epidemicsound.com/track/bWHPOsoaql
epidemicsound.com/track/uDAHxg3lIS
epidemicsound.com/track/e3mQvva1kZ
epidemicsound.com/track/e3mQvva1kZ
epidemicsound.com/track/e3mQvva1kZ
epidemicsound.com/track/2dLRmfzdA5
epidemicsound.com/track/jrNZjxJQqZ
epidemicsound.com/track/c0X3Z8H8uZ
epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/8c51eca6-dbb5-4925-b4ec-7ee51630322e
Dr. Ben discusses character death in ttrpgs (Episode #184). #dnd #pathfinder #ttrpg #wfrp
Website rpgphd.com
Discord discord.gg/e49rJVQCwW
RPG PHD swag!!! rpg-phd.myspreadshop.com
Facebook facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089593636905
Instagram instagram.com/rpg_phd
Bluesky @rpg-phd.bsky.social
Special thanks to Evelina for the thumbnail template, much appreciated!! 😊
Why this grief is psychologically real, why a beloved character can start to feel as real as a friend, what actors already know about exiting a role cleanly, where this research gets misapplied, and a full step-by-step guide for running a character's death at the table.
Full source list linked below. Drop a comment with how your table has handled a character's death, we're collecting these for a future video.
TTRPG, tabletop RPG, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, character death, character loss, grief psychology, parasocial relationships, parasocial grief, disenfranchised grief, continuing bonds, narrative transportation, de-roling, drama therapy, bleed larp, tabletop gaming, GM tips, dungeon master advice, game master, roleplaying psychology, psychology of grief, TTRPG psychology, character retirement, worldbuilding, campaign design, RPG theory, tabletop community, actor training, grief theory, meaning reconstruction, dual process model, DnD tips, homebrew campaign, session zero
---------------------------------------------
00:00 Intro
01:16 Why the Grief is Real
07:22 How Real is a Character
14:47 Leaving a Character
19:05 Greif Models
23:23 Pitfalls
26:00 Step by Step Guide
30:46 Thoughts?
--------------------------------------------
Works Cited
Bailey, Sally, and Daijah Porchia. "De-Roling from Experiences and Identities in Virtual Worlds." K-State Research Exchange, Kansas State University, 2014.
Boss, Emily Care. "Romance and Gender in Role Playing Games: Too Hot to Handle?" Presentation, Ropecon, Helsinki, 2007.
Bowman, Sarah Lynne. "Bleed: The Spillover Between Player and Character." Nordic Larp, 2 Mar. 2015, nordiclarp.org/2015/03/02/bleed-the-spillover-between-player-and-character/.
Broom, Timothy W., Robert S. Chavez, and Dylan D. Wagner. "Becoming the King in the North: Identification with Fictional Characters Is Associated with Greater Self-Other Neural Overlap." Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, vol. 16, no. 6, 2021, pp. 541–51.
Cohen, Jonathan. "Defining Identification: A Theoretical Look at the Identification of Audiences with Media Characters." Mass Communication & Society, vol. 4, no. 3, 2001, pp. 245–64.
Doka, Kenneth J. Disenfranchised Grief: Recognizing Hidden Sorrow. Lexington Books, 1989.
Eyal, Keren, and Jonathan Cohen. "When Good Friends Say Goodbye: A Parasocial Breakup Study." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 50, no. 3, 2006, pp. 502–23.
Gardner, Wendi L., and Megan L. Knowles. "Love Makes You Real: Favorite Television Characters Are Perceived as 'Real' in a Social Facilitation Paradigm." Social Cognition, vol. 26, no. 2, 2008, pp. 156–68.
Green, Melanie C., and Timothy C. Brock. "The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 79, no. 5, 2000, pp. 701–21.
Johnson, David Read, and Renée Emunah, editors. Current Approaches in Drama Therapy. 2nd ed., Charles C. Thomas, 2009.
Klass, Dennis, et al., editors. Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief. Taylor & Francis, 1996.
Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. Macmillan, 1969.
Lassken, Savannagh. "Persona Non Grata: A Systematic Review of De-Roling in Drama Therapy." Drama Therapy Review, vol. 3, no. 2, 2017, pp. 165–78.
Neimeyer, Robert A. Meaning Reconstruction and the Experience of Loss. American Psychological Association, 2001.
Snodgrass, Jeffrey G., et al. "Tabletop Role-Playing Games as Drama Therapy in the Wild: Developing Personal Bonds with Characters Improves Players' Self-Concepts." Transcultural Psychiatry, 2026, doi:10.1177/13634615261418363.
Music and Sounds:
epidemicsound.com/track/Erdns8jA3D
epidemicsound.com/track/MRyCi54t7M
epidemicsound.com/track/AQBpWzOsID
epidemicsound.com/track/yCvSWOBYUe
Music: creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0
epidemicsound.com/track/c0X3Z8H8uZ
epidemicsound.com/track/yCvSWOBYUe
Music: creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0
epidemicsound.com/track/bWHPOsoaql
epidemicsound.com/track/uDAHxg3lIS
epidemicsound.com/track/e3mQvva1kZ
epidemicsound.com/track/e3mQvva1kZ
epidemicsound.com/track/e3mQvva1kZ
epidemicsound.com/track/2dLRmfzdA5
epidemicsound.com/track/jrNZjxJQqZ
epidemicsound.com/track/c0X3Z8H8uZ
epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/8c51eca6-dbb5-4925-b4ec-7ee51630322e
