Charisma

It's one of the most confusing saving throws in D&D. The Charisma Save. What's it for?

I usually describe Charisma as the force of someone's personality. It's a little like being strong-willed, though this overlaps with Wisdom somewhat - Wisdom saves in 3rd Edition were called Will Saves - but it's more than that. It's being sure of yourself. It's being confident. It's knowing what you want, what you need to do to get it, and being able to actually do that.

So it follows that people who have low Charisma scores lack self-confidence, and possibly experience anxiety and depression. They suffer from Impostor Syndrome.

With this in mind, I have come to the conclusion that attacks and spells that require a Charisma save are actually attacks on your self-confidence. They strike at your self-esteem, they induce anxiety. They won't affect someone who has a strong sense of self and of purpose, but to be an anxiety sufferer hit by something like that? Potentially devastating.