What does it feel like to fight off a mental attack?

[RangerWickett]

Mechanically, when someone tries to read your mind or mind control you, you either have a static defense, or you make some sort of saving throw. Maybe you have mental hit points that have to be ablated before the attack actually affects you.

But what is the experience like? I think in images and sounds, only very occasionally in tactile or olfactory sensations. If someone is rooting around in my memories, do I hear them thinking words? Do I just feel a presence, like if someone was standing behind me? Do memories come to mind that I did not consciously choose to think about?

How do you detect the fact that someone's assaulting your mind? Obviously if you see a bald guy with two fingers to his forehead, furrowing his brow, and suddenly you get an intense head-ache or your limbs start acting on their own, okay, that's easy to figure out. But if someone is just reading your mind, or planting a suggestion, what occurs from your perspective that might let you realize something is amiss? Is it like poison or a disease, subtle and slow-acting, or like a jaguar, painful and panic-inducing?

If someone is in your mind, what can you do to stop them? Does simply thinking, "Get out of my mind" work? Do you have to visualize their existence in some sort of dreamscape and try to thwart their movements and actions? If they make you recall a memory against your will, can you just invent an alternate one, or will that cause you to corrupt your own recollections? Is it sufficient simply to recognize that you're being compelled in order to resist a suggestion, or is there a relative 'strength' involved; and in that case, how do you become stronger to either attack or defend?

And, hey, if it's simply just Chuck Xavier blasting your brain with psychic energy, what does that feel like? Hallucinated pain? Malaise? A weight that holds you down or a feverish convulsion? To resist that do you just grit your teeth and 'play through the pain'?

 

[Umbran]

I think the thing should only be describable through fairly poetic imagery.

For example: It should feel like the worst day you had when you were a kid. When you were teased and bullied to the point of humiliation by your peers, given a wedgie/swirlie combo and then stuffed in your locker by the older kids, and then went home to discover your parents were getting a divorce... (There are worse days, but I'm keeping this family-friendly).

The exact form of the imagery should be tuned to the flavor of the attack being made. One does not just generically attack a mind, any more than one generically attacks in melee - it is a sword thrust, or an axe chop, not just "an attack". One tries to beat the opponent's mind into submission to leave the target a whimpering heap on the floor, or attempts to insinuate tendrils of control over the function of muscles, or tries to rifle through memories for a particular piece of information. Determine what the attack is really trying to do, and flavor the imagery 9and the imagery of the defense) to match.

 

[Mark CMG]

What does it feel like to fight off a mental attack?

It's gotta be a bit of a headache.

 

[Stormonu]

I kind of imagine someone mind-blasting or attempting to mentally control you is kind of like having a marine seargent screaming (such as Gunney from Full Metal Jacket) in your face. He may not physically touch you, but his control over you is all mental manipulation. Heck, the "Choke yourself" scene is an excellent example.

As for reading minds, I've always kind of imagined it like watching someone rifle through your house searching for something. Some of 'evil' bend might do the equivalant of dumping out drawers, cutting open matresses/pillow, emptying closets onto the floor and whatnot in their search. A 'subtle' mindreader might distract you while he glances through a pile of mail or attempts to crack a safe while your in another room (essentially thinking of something else). This train of thought makes more sense if your familiar with the medieval idea of organzing thoughts/memories into 'rooms'.

 

[Kingreaper]

For mental attacks I think of it like the 'alien' thoughts that come into your mind randomly*. The same thought coming into your head again and again. An imperative to do something, a painful memory, an urge to act, or a repeated emotional thought.

If you're just trying to disable someone temporarily you might send dozens of random thoughts; but if you want to keep them down once you stop the attack you'd use something like "I'm a failure, remember when..." repeated over and over, or "If I don't stop... I'll kill them. I wanna kill people... it'd be fun..." against a hero.

To fight it off wouldn't just be force of will, because they're using your own mind against you, it would require consciously tricking your way past them (one of my preferred meditative techniques is referred to as "mental judo" for a reason)

*or mine at least, but then I have several mental illnesses and a neurological disorder, so my experience may not be typical

 

[Hand of Evil]

Tequila -- like saying no and stopping after the first shot. The more you fail, the worse it gets.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

It depends on the type of attack, but for a controlling attack I think it would feel like a temptation. Have you ever really, really wanted to do something you know you really, really shouldn't? Like that, except the urges come stronger and quicker. And once you give in, you can't stop until the control spell is over. Kind of like a reformed addict trying to fight off a relapse, I suppose.

 

[Dioltach]

Defending against a mental attack might be like trying to get a horribly catchy song out of your head, particularly if there's someone nearby who keeps humming the tune or singing the chorus.

Being mind controlled might be a bit like being drunk -- you do something or say something, and a split second later a tiny voice at the back of your mind reminds you that that was really not a good idea. But your body and mouth seem to have a mind of their own and those warnings just fade into the background. Or when you fall, or you bite on the inside of your cheek, and time seems to slow down and for the briefest moment you *know* you're falling or about to bite yourself and it's going to hurt but there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Does that make sense?