Path of the Nightmare

All is not fair in war- and there are some times when sticking to the rules ensures defeat. In those desperate times some begin going down the Path of the Nightmare, making enormous sacrifices to keep their land safe. They confront their inner darkness face to face, and use it to claim victory without honor or humanity. An enormous amount of pressure rests on those taking this path: to be the strongest, most heinous, most ruthless; this pressure finds its outlet in their rages, giving them a more-or-less controlled way to vent those feelings. 

The actions that start one down this path often come at the cost of dishonor and shame: flouting time-honored military and cultural traditions, vile assaults beneath basic decency, and so on. The gulf only grows wider over time, with more and more people turning against them and sometimes others joining them. This lawless and vile persona becomes a weapon and armor of its own, and those of the path learn how to exploit fear as much as use their raw power.

Those who walk the Path of the Nightmare have difficulty being truly or openly Good. Their actions are understood by few and appreciated by fewer still, and their inner complexities lead them taking a Neutral stance on most things. There are also tragic cases of those on the path becoming truly evil, becoming just as horrifying in fact as in legend. The Path of the Nightmare is narrow, but at the end is still hope.

Dirty Fighting

You've graduated from the school of hard knocks, and have learned to wring every advantage- fair or not- out of a battle, and where to strike to hit the hardest. You can score a critical hit with a weapon attack on a roll of 19-20.

Aura of Menace

You have a grim air about you that can be difficult to stand against, and with a little extra pressure it can cause your foes to buckle and open up to further attacks. You gain an aura 10 that is active while you're conscious and not incapacitated. At the start of your turn, each hostile creature in the aura must make a Charisma saving throw with a DC of 8+your proficiency+Strength modifier; on a fail, you can make an additional melee weapon attack against the target during your turn as part of the Attack action.

Terrifying Might

You've learned to never hold back your emotions, drawing strength from them to work past your fears of your enemies, leaving lasting wounds. Once per turn, when you hit a creature with an attack using a weapon, you can wound the target. At the start of each of the wounded creature's turns, it takes 1d4 necrotic damage for each time you've wounded it, and it can then make a DC 8+Proficiency+Strength modifier Constitution saving throw, ending the effect of all such wounds on itself on a success. Alternatively, the wounded creature, or a creature within 5 feet of it, can use an action to make a DC 8+Proficiency+Strength modifier Wisdom (Medicine) check, ending the effect of such wounds on it on a success.

Ruthless Aggression

Your countless hours of training and adventures have taught you how to harness your rage and leverage it as a weapon physically, through your physique and body language.

While raging, you have advantage on Intimidation checks, and you can use your Strength to make Intimidation checks instead of your Charisma while raging. Additionally, when a creature in your Aura of Menace fails a saving throw, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against it.