My First Encounter with the Ring
Okay so yesterday I was looting corpses near that creepy swamp area – you know, where the frog people try to eat you? Found this rusty ring called “Ring of Mental Inhibition” that said stuff like “+1 saving throws but penalty to wisdom stuff.” Sounded confusing as hell. I figured eh, it’s purple loot, must be good, and slapped it on Gale immediately.
Testing Time Gone Wrong
Big mistake. Next battle against those skeleton mages, Gale kept failing Wisdom saves like crazy. These bony jerks cast “Hold Person” on him three times in a row! Gale just stood there drooling while my team got wrecked. Total party wipe. I thought my game was bugged until I remembered the damn ring. Took it off Gale, reloaded, same fight – suddenly he’s passing saves normally. Huh?
The “Aha!” Moment
After wiping twice, I actually read the item description PROPERLY this time. Realized it says:
- Good part: +1 to ALL saving throws (sounded awesome)
- Devil part: When you FAIL a Wisdom saving throw, you take 1-4 psychic damage AND get “Mental Fatigue” for 2 turns.
Mental Fatigue cuts your Wisdom IN HALF! That’s why Gale kept failing repeatedly – first fail screws your Wisdom, making next fails easier. It’s a death spiral trap!
Finally Using It Right
Tested it on my tank with high Wisdom. Fed him to Intellect Devourers on purpose. Failed first Wisdom save, took 3 psychic damage, got Mental Fatigue debuff. But since his Wisdom was high enough even halved, he passed the next one. Ring didn’t completely cripple him. Then I put it on SHADOWHEART – lol bad idea, she failed constantly because clerics need Wisdom. Ended up giving it to Lae’zel. Githyanki warriors don’t care about Wisdom saves anyway, so that +1 to all saves is pure upside for her.
Moral of the story? That ring’s description is sneaky. It helps until you fail ONE Wisdom check, then it kicks you while you’re down. Save it for characters who won’t cry when their brain gets scrambled.