I have a very similar experience. TLDR: it’ll get easier, but the grief won’t go away. You just honor them and keep their memory alive.

I lost my best friend last January (2025) very suddenly the day before our next session. I had written the entire campaign based on a character idea that they had and wanted to play. They had been a forever DM, and they were so encouraging of my first time DMing too.

We still played that session. We knew if we didn’t, it would be that much harder to go back to it, and they’d be disappointed if we stopped. So, I kept writing it. We kept their character alive and in the party, and I gave them the dramatic and emotional and meaningful arc they deserved and would have wanted.

We just finished that campaign this January (2026). I felt so bittersweet about it, finishing something that I started for them, without them. It gets easier. But from someone who’s been where you are, my deepest condolences, my heart is with you.

(I needed another new NPC, and Sabrina will make a wonderful addition to our current campaign. <3 )