Path of the Bloody-Nine

It is customary in many regions to spit after uttering the black name of Logen Ninefingers. The few that knew him as friend also knew to fear him and the dark personality that manifested at the worst of times, the Bloody-Nine. When this dark persona takes over, it leaves a trail of blood and death in its wake and neither friend nor foe is safe from its violence. 

While the most reasonable of minds would see Logen's story as a tragedy and a path to be avoided, there are those less reasonable minds that would see strength and the glory of being a Named Man and destroyer of life. It is whispered that those who can speak with spirits may find a way to drink from the cup of the Bloody-Nine and let the dark ego of Death Incarnate wash over them. 

Not all who find themselves on this path do so voluntarily. It isn't understood how The Bloody-Nine came to be, only that he was to be feared and avoided. While in control of your senses, you may not have much in common with your alter-ego, perhaps even abhoring violence. Nevertheless, when your dark persona overtakes you, no one is safe and only death will satisfy.

Dark Persona

There was blood on him, but that was good. There was always blood. His leg hurt and he smiled. Pain was the fuel that made the fires burn. Something moved in front of him. Masked men. Enemies.

Corpses, then.

At times of extreme emotion and danger, a cold sensation comes over you and a second identity emerges from your psyche. It has a name related to, but separate, from your own. This second self exists for nothing but violence and only views others as "dead" or "soon to be dead" and does not easily recognize friend from foe.

When you rage, the following apply:

• You gain +2 to your strength, dexterity, and constitution, -3 to your wisdom, intelligence, and charisma. (Use Dark Persona item to apply this)
• You may make an additional attack as a bonus action while raging.
• You may only attack the closest enemy and will focus on only that enemy until it is dead before moving on to the next one with a complete disregard for your own safety. You may not retreat or move away from the focus of your attack while raging.
• While raging, roll a d6 if a party member comes within 10 feet of you. On a 1, you are not able to distinguish who is your enemy and will focus your attack on them. You only need to make this roll once per party member, per combat. 
• When you exit rage, you take 1d12 damage and fall prone as the effort of your rage leaves you completely spent and the pain of any damage taken is finally felt. 

Speak with the Spirits

A gift lost to most of the realm of the living, you have the rare ability to speak with primal Spirits, elusive and ethereal creatures bound to the plane and location you are in. These Spirits are ancient and have existed since long before the time of men. They also seem to be associated with elements; the Spirits in The North are associated with wood and trees ("voices like the thousand sounds of the forest"), or on the Coast, they are attuned with water ("the crashing of the waves on the shore") for example. They impassively observe the goings on in the world around them, although they have little interest in humans and are always weak on the details. 

The Spirits you summon will only have knowledge related to the area and plane they reside in. In some planes of existence, this may be a very dangerous ritual to attempt, as the Spirits raised may be hostile to the player and the party. 

Once per long rest, you may summon these Spirits with a ritual involving blowing a strong liquor as a mist over a fire. Since they are so infrequently called by mortals, they are slow to arrive and the ritual takes 1d4 x 10 minutes. 

After the ritual has been completed, roll a d8 and use the chart below for the outcome: 

D8	EFFECT
1	The Spirits are angered at your intrusion. They shift the winds around you and blow the embers of the fire into your face. It does 1d10 fire damage.
2	The Spirits do not respond to your call. It is unclear if the Spirits here are sleeping or are ignoring you.
3	A single, sleepy Spirit answers your summon. It will answer a single question vaguely, giving only a positive, negative, or neutral indication to your question.
4	You raise a single Spirit that is not interested in helping you. It speaks to you about the grievances committed by locals, the destruction of the land, and the weariness of its existence. At the DM's discretion, you may accidentally learn something not related to your question about a person, place, or thing relevant to your journey. After it is done speaking to you, the Spirit is so disturbed by being summoned that it decides to fade from existence permanently, to finally rest.
5	Multiple Spirits respond to your summons. They do not have any answers for your but believe in the path that you are on. They offer you a boon that allows you to reroll a single attack, ability check, or saving throw. The boon is consumed by its usage and may only be used by you.
6	Helpful Spirits heed your call. They offer you a single piece of information that will be useful in the future.
7	A deceitful Spirit answers you. They offer to answer two questions for you but will give the wrong answer to one of them. Roll a wisdom save throw to determine if you can detect the Spirits deceptive nature. (DC 15). On failure, you believe both answers to be truthful. On success, you know the spirit is untrustworthy but do not know if one or both answers were a lie.
8	The primal energies are strong in this area or your call was especially urgent, a group of lively Spirits answer your call. They are willing to give you a helpful response to up to three questions in exchange for a favor of the DM's choosing. This will be adjacent to your current journey but should you refuse to complete this task, you will be tormented by Spirits every time you try to sleep, preventing you from taking a long rest.

 

You're Next!

“More,” he whispered, and the room turned around him as he sought out the next kill. “More!” he bellowed, and he laughed, and the walls laughed, and the corpses laughed with him. “Where’s the rest of you?”

Your lust for violence grows as you connect further with your Dark Persona. Beginning at the 6th level, after you dispatch a foe, you may use a reaction to dash toward the next enemy and make an additional melee attack if you are within range. 

If a friendly creature is the closest, roll a d6. On a 1, you focus your attack on them. (Only one roll of this type, per friendly, per combat)

 

Eye for an Eye

Something dug into the Bloody-Nine’s back, but there was no pain. It was a sign. A message in a secret tongue, that only he could understand. It told him where the next dead man was standing. 

Even the attacks of your enemies cannot slow your thirst for death. When you take damage from a creature that is within movement range, you may use your reaction to dash and make a melee weapon attack against that creature. This is the only exception your need to focus on a single enemy until it is dead. 

Vision of Death

“Kill me?' The Bloody-Nine laughed louder than ever. 'I do the killing, fool!”

The wicked smile of your dark persona as it chooses its next victim is paralyzing in its terror. For the duration of your rage, when you engage a target, they must make a wisdom-saving role or immediately be frightened (DC 8 + STR Modifier + Profiency Bonus). 

You additionally find their terror so invigorating that you gain 2d12 temporary hit points. These do not stack.