Imagine encountering a doppelganger who is able to cast Vicious Mockery at will. It’s immune to all forms of damage except psychic and is incorporeal. It looks like you and sounds like you and knows you well enough that you have disadvantage on saves against the Vicious Mockery, which it casts randomly and unexpectedly.
This is my personal BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy). But it’s not me, and I’m learning to fight it.
While annoying, I’ve never backed down from a fight worth having, and just because it lives in my head doesn’t mean I’m going to let it control me.
Instead, I’m figuring out how to put it to work for me. It has a lot of allies in the world, people who agree with it that I’m a deeply flawed person who makes a lot of mistakes. If you’ve ever been hit with a +2 Mace of Gaslighting, you know what I mean. But the resistance to that attack comes not in denying my obvious shortcomings but in acknowledging them, using them like a Judo throw that uses my enemy’s momentum against them. “Yes, I’m not only aware of that flaw, but I know that it’s even worse than you say!” But then I turn to my friends, family, and God, those who know me best and whose opinions I truly respect, who remind me that the source of my value isn’t in my abilities or perfections—it's inherent—and they acknowledge that by their commitment to me.
OK, that’s my turn, except I’m using my bonus action to cast Shield of Faith on you. You’re next in initiative order.
All kinds of terrible monsters attack you, knowing your vulnerabilities and striking at those spots. At various times, some of them come from within you. But you are loved and valued, and like a recipient of Shield of Faith, there’s no save against it — you’re covered in it no matter what. So go ahead and take your action. Even if you roll a 1, which we all do at times, the next round will come around again in six seconds, and we have your back. |