Bleed is the transcendent experience of experiencing your character’s feelings. It is the goal state of successfully feeling like someone else, walking in their shoes, experiencing their life, if only for a moment of emotional climax. And it’s awesome.
I genuinely play table-top games to feel that rush (though it’s not the only reason), and I know I’m not alone. Being able to step outside of yourself is magic. A magic you can attempt to summon bi-weekly with a group of like-minded friends who may very well all be trying to do the same thing.
That said, landing a character’s emotional climax is hard to pull off, and can easily become self-indulgent, annoying, or rude. Table-top is a team sport, and people hogging the spotlight to get their next shot of Bleed are among the most annoying people at any given table.
So… how do you pull it off well?
Session 0 Boundaries
This is the equivalent of “did you turn it off and on again”, but bears repeating. Session 0 should cover the amount of Bleed people are aiming for in character, and what the emotional stakes of the game will be.
Like my momma always said, “If you don’t feel comfortable discussing what you like about sex, you’re probably not ready to have it.” Same rules apply for Bleed.
Related to Plot and People
If you’re going to aim for big emotions and want the scene to land, relate it to the other fucking players. If your character is having a big emotional climax unrelated to the ongoing plot or other players… either find a way for your character to start talking to other characters about their feelings, or consider solo roleplay. Table time is precious, and should involve the other people at the table.
When in doubt, do what people do in real life: slot in new people for those missing in your character’s life.
Let’s start with a classic example, The Missing Little Sister.
First, pick another player character who is reasonably similar. Maybe they’re the wizard, and need someone to help with their heavy bags consistently. Maybe they have physical features in common with your little sister, like blond hair. Maybe they’re just the youngest character. But start being helpful and protective of them. Not in a non-consensual way, but in a self-sacrificing way. Offer them your helping of dessert, and describe your character looking happy to help, but a little sad. Say a line or two about how you always used to give your little sister your dessert. Then keep doing it. Create consistency, build a picture, and suddenly that player is invested in wanting to find said sister again.
As a side note… do this for other players as well. Don’t No Sell. Collaborate.
Bleed Moves from IC -> OOC, not OOC -> IC
Don’t drag shitty OOC drama into character. While that is still bleed, it’s not good bleed.
Everyone who has played for a while has seen an argument that started OOC move into character and waste time and energy. The goal of Bleed should be to expand yourself through new experiences, not contract your character into your own personal mess.
If you want to use your own experiences as a basis for your character’s emotional life, by all means, but have boundaries. Don’t turn a table-top into a group therapy session. Let folk opt-in consensually to your character’s emotional stakes, most likely over a period of time where you build trust.
And most importantly, don’t aim for bleed with raw emotions. No shitty first drafts: whatever personal experiences you’re using for the basis of a character should be meaningfully processed and stable before you try to add a layer of symbolic abstraction and share them with the class.
Have Big Stakes People Care About
If you’re going to take a big swing for an emotional climax full of Bleed, make sure it’s going to land. Have Big Stakes.
Most likely, this means your swing should be related to a climax in the game’s ongoing plot, as… that’s where the consequences live. In Avatar: the Last Airbender, people care about Zuko’s angst with his father because his father was the Fire Lord, the Big Bad; if the Fire Nation wasn’t an existential threat, the angst has no stakes.
Working with your Gamemaster/Storyteller to incorporate your backstory is a good practice, especially if you’re playing for Bleed. Be willing to change or add details in your backstory to relate your character to the story. This is the difference between Collaborative World-building and Writing a Novel.
Inviting the Gamemaster in early also helps with the other half of Big Stakes: stats and rules. If something is important, the something should be represented within the rules. Most systems have a way to represent a character’s shaken faith or doubts (or finding your new beliefs so egregious you physically become sick; gotta love Zuko). Use them. Have stakes, have consequences, have your character suffer for their bad decisions or generally shitty life.
Wrapping it Up
I love playing for Bleed. But damned if it isn’t an art form. Landing a character’s emotional climax for bleed takes effort and time and compromise. Low effort bleed is junk food; hold out for creme brûlée. Carefully add the ingredients, mix them together, let them bake, and when the time is right… light them on fire.
And when you finally crack in, enjoy every bite.