Help me make a "terrible black hole" melee control/debuffer tank/defender

[upho]

Terry Bull-Blackole
- Melee Control Example Build -

This concept was probably formed mostly because three PC-related items in particular have been on my mind a lot recently:

Size and reach because of the latest FAQ about stacking size increases and the new races in DSP's upcoming Akashic Mysteries (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?409134-Dreamscarred-Press-Presents-Akashic-Mysteries-Thread-2).
Good uses of Intimidate in combat, because lately I've needed to build a lot of suitably scary and effective opponents for the home campaign I'm running.
Combat roles/focuses besides damage that are viable for melee martials, without also nerfing efficiency, because I simply love tactically interesting and different melee builds.

So I've tried fitting the best related Paizo and DSP options I know of together in a PC build, and I think the result may be interesting and different enough to get some attention and hopefully further improvement suggestions from you.

The main objectives of the build is to:

protect allies and take out enemies through melee attacks able to debuff and reposition opponents as far into uselessness as possible (= must be able to attract aggression, provide defensive bonuses to allies, and have attacks that pile on negative effects)
make as many of these debilitating attacks against as many opponents as possible (= as great reach and as many AoO triggers as possible)
have the durability needed to survive the aggression a "true" tank/defender combat role attracts (= must have great saves, lots of HP/DR/self-healing, and abilities that can stop or circumvent dangerous enemy attacks/powers)

This is the (annoyingly complex) build at 20th level so far:


LN gargantuan male Alqarn (gamla, humanoid) primalist bloodrager 12, zweihander sentinel warder 4, lore warden fighter 2, master of many styles monk 2
(All stats while in bloodrage and Primal Warrior Stance, using listed gear.)

Initiative +16; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Perception +28

DEFENSE
AC 29, touch 11, flat-footed 28; Improved Uncanny Dodge (+12 armor, +1 dex, +1 shield, +5 deflection, +5 natural, +1 luck, -4 size, -2 rage)
Hp 339 (10+13d10+4d12+2d8+232) 50% chance to ignore crits; may turn 1 crit/day into normal hit
Fort 36, Ref 25, Will 26; evasion, satanic saves (see "Notable special ability combinations" below)
DR 2/-; immune to exhausted, fatigued, nauseated and sickened conditions; resist fire 5, cold 5

OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft. Space 20 ft. Reach 25 ft. (55 ft. with Lockarme)
Melee Witch Hunter Power Attack: Lockarme +33/+28/+23/+18 (6d6+49/x2 plus Diabolical Demoralization) and Gore +28 (6d6+20 plus Diabolical Demoralization)
or Cestus +35/+30/+25/+20 (6d6+39/x2 plus Diabolical Demoralization) and Gore +28 (6d6+20 plus Diabolical Demoralization)
or Gore +30 (6d6+35/x2 plus Diabolical Demoralization)
Special Attacks Diabolical Demoralization and Hell's Hold (see "Notable special ability combinations" below).

FEATS, BLOODLINE and RAGE POWERS PROGRESSION
(BR# = bloodrager level, LW# = lore warden level, M# = monk level, ZS# = zweihander sentinel level; B = bonus feat, I = feat from item)
1 BR1 Power Attack, EnduranceB; Superstition, Witch Hunter (retrained from Staggering Strike at 4th)
2 BR2
3 BR3 Raging Vitality
4 BR4 Abnormal Reach
5 LW1 Intimidating Prowess, Black Seraph StyleB (retrained from Furious Focus at 7th level)
6 LW2 Black Seraph's MalevolenceB (retrained from Improved Trip at 13th), Combat ExpertiseB
7 ZS1 Greater Trip
8 ZS2
9 ZS3 Cornugon Smash, Soulless GazeB
10 BR5
11 BR6 Fiendskin, Improved InitiativeB
12 BR7
13 BR8 Black Seraph Annihilation; Improved TripI; Internal Fortitude, Strength Surge
14 M1 Improved Unarmed StrikeB, Wolf StyleB
15 M2 Vicious Stomp, Wolf TripB
16 ZS4
17 BR9 Improved Sunder (retrained from Furious Focus at 20th level), Iron WillB
18 BR10
19 BR11 Advanced Study; Greater Bloodrage
20 BR12 Great FortitudeB; Come and Get Me, Spell Sunder

NOTABLE SPECIAL ABILITY COMBINATIONS
Satanic Saves Terry has a +4 morale bonus to saves against spells, supernatural or spell-like abilities (superstition), a +3 morale bonus to saves against fear (rallying armor), and a +2 profane bonus to saves against mind-affecting abilities and to saves against abilities of chaotic creatures (Black Thorn Knights allegiance benefit). Terry also gains a +5 bonus to AC and saving throws against the abilities of creatures that are shaken, frightened, panicked or cowering (Black Seraph Style).

Diabolical Demoralization While Terry uses Power Attack, each of his attacks that deal damage grant him a free action +49 demoralize attempt against the hit target, the target's immunity to fear lost if within 30 ft. (Cornugon Smash, Black Seraph Annihilation (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EPARqt5jpie03MIXStgFrNK_si6g218bjT4TFbcizPY/edit?usp=sharing).) Success renders the target shaken, or frightened if already shaken, or panicked if already frightened (Soulless Gaze (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/damnation-feats/soulless-gaze-damnation)). Targets already shaken (or worse) damaged by Terry's Lockarme are also sickened (no save) (cruel weapon). The effects remain for 1 round, +1 round for every 5 the Intimidate skill check exceeds the DC, and +1 round for each success against an already panicked or cowering target.

Hell's Hold Each time Terry succeeds on a trip attempt, he can have the target fall prone in an adjacent free space of his choice, and he may make two attacks of opportunity against the target: the first before the target falls prone, using any melee attack with sufficient reach, and the second, after the target falls prone, using his unarmed strike (cestus) (Wolf Trip, Greater Trip, Vicious Stomp). Each attack of opportunity that deals damage also reduces the target's base speed by 5 ft., +5 ft. per 5 points of damage exceeding 10, for 1 round. If the target's base speed is reduced to 0 or less, Terry can make a trip attempt as a free action against the target (Wolf Style). Opponents gain a +4 bonus to attack Terry, but also provoke a preceding attack of opportunity from Terry each time they target him with an attack (Come and Get Me). In addition, Terry's Lockarme allows him to trip opponents that fly through the use of wings, and each time he deals damage with it, the hit creature is affected as though by the dimensional anchor spell for 1 round (Dragoncatch Guisarme, phase locking weapon).

STATISTICS
Str 40, Dex 12, Con 32, Int 26, Wis 10, Cha 16 (20-point buy)
Base Atk +19, CMB +47 (sunder +53, trip +55), CMD 61 (63 vs. sunder, trip) treated as colossal size

RELEVANT GEAR
Armor +3 rallying mithral brawling Celestial Plate
Weapons Lockarme (colossal +2 furiously cruel phase locking Dragoncatch Guisarme); +2 furiously courageous Bodywrap of mighty strikes
Other Jingasa of the fortunate soldier; +5 Ring of protection; +5 Amulet of natural armor; +5 Cloak of resistance; Goggles of the night eagle (60 ft. darkvision, +5 Perception); Skin of Proteus (gargantuan size, +2 Dex, Improved Trip); +6 Belt of physical might (Str, Con); Headband of +6 Int, +4 Cha and +2 Wis; +4 Manual of gainful exercise; +2 Tome of clear thought; Flawed pale green prism, Flawed scarlet and green cabochon, Cracked dusty rose prism in wayfinder, Wand of fly, Wand of shield



In short, Terry's "Diabolical Demoralization" and "Hell's Hold" combinations work together so that a single attack, made by Terry against an enemy or vice versa, has a high probability of triggering a chain of AoOs and increasingly severe effects able to shut down the enemy completely. The target is likely to end up prone, cowering and sickened adjacent to Terry, their magic buffs suppressed or dispelled, their movement speed reduced to nothing, and their teleportation/dimension magic useless. Some of the most important components involved in this chain are new and/or AFAICT rarely used/discussed on GitPG for some reason, and therefore deserve some extra attention IMO. I'm thinking especially of the stacking fear effects of Soulless Gaze, the ability to ignore immunity to fear via Black Seraph Annihilation, the automatic repositioning of a tripped opponent granted by Wolf Trip, and the enormous 130 x 130 ft. threatened area resulting from combining the large sized alqarn race with the weapon enlargement of the awesome Primal Warrior Stance and the permanent "+2 size categories" metamorphosis of Skin of Proteus. A nice little surprise to me was how well several vital components came together in the infernal flavor (admittedly with some long-tasting aberrant spice).

But I'm sure I've missed tons of stuff which could drastically improve and simplify the build, or totally different combinations which could more easily achieve the same goals, and would therefore much appreciate your suggestions, as well as any related comments/questions/critique/praise/advice you may have! Of special interest are suggestions for suitable spells and martial maneuvers (besides Primal Warrior's Stance).

[upho]

Terry Bull-Blackole in the Eye of Avarice

SPOILER ALERT!
The specifics of this encounter (enemy stats, terrain, situation etc.) are taken from the Spires of Xin Shalast adventure, the final part of Paizo's Rise of the Runelords campaign. I therefore highly recommend you avoid reading the spoilered sections in this post if you are/will be playing this adventure. Please hide any responses to this post in a spoiler section. Thank you!

The final epic fight in the Rise of the Runelords campaign, where the PCs finally face Karzoug in the Eye of Avarice, is sort of iconic and famous for being very difficult if the DM actually plays Karzoug according to his high Intelligence and makes the most out of his prepared spells. Like many fights against high level full casters, this encounter is a lot more challenging than the CR value (22) suggests, and it would probably be near impossible for a more typical melee focused martial build of 20th level to win it solo, even if highly optimized. As such, I think it could be suitable to illustrate Terry's abilities in action, rather than having him face a number of high CR monsters in individual fights (Terry easily wins against most CR 20 monsters without having to spend much limited resources).


As Terry likely knows he can expect combat to start as soon as he steps into the Eye of Avarice, and that he's about to face Karzoug himself, he prepares as best he can before using the anima focus artifact:

readies whatever martial maneuvers he likes
assumes the Black Seraph Style stance (treats creatures affected by fear as if good aligned when calculating profane damage, see also "Satanic Saves" and "Diabolical Demoralization" in OP)
assumes the Wolf Style stance (+2 to trip attempts as part of AoOs, see also "Hell's Hold" in OP)
assumes the Primal Warrior Stance (ignores difficult terrain when charging, other effects included in OP)
uses his wand of fly (5 min: fly 60 ft., +6 to Fly checks)
uses his wand of shield (1 min: +4 shield bonus to AC)
casts haste (12 rounds: +30 ft. speed, additional attack, +1 bonus to attack, +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves)

Karzoug prepares as described in the adventure.

Terry arrives inside the Eye of Avarice in the following position:
http://res.cloudinary.com/upho/image/upload/c_scale,w_484/v1434538625/Terry_Bull-Blackole_initiative_rj5aax.png
T = Terry
SG = Storm Giant (Warden of Thunder)
RG = Rune Giant (Warden of Runes)
K = Karzoug the Claimer
# = Feet above/below arrival platform
(The blue dragon starting just south of Karzoug's throne is unlikely to have any real impact on the result of this battle.)




As no combatant is surprised, combat initiates normally. Considering Karzoug has prepared time stops and can cast several quickened spells, winning initiative is crucial for Terry. Thankfully, his high initiative makes it highly probable (83.5% chance) that he does get to act first. He takes the following actions during his turn:

Free - initiates greater bloodrage with mirror image (12 min: 1d4+4 (average 6.5) images)

Free - activates Come and Get Me (-4 AC, attacks against Terry provokes preceding AoOs)

Move - Terry moves as shown, until Karzoug is within the 55 ft. reach of Terry's Lockarme and the rune giant no longer provides cover:

http://res.cloudinary.com/upho/image/upload/c_scale,w_484/v1434539426/Terry_Bull-Blackole_move_yyiubl.png
Terry's move may provoke two AoOs: one from the storm giant on the northern balcony, and one from the rune giant. Neither of these attacks can have any significant impact on Terry's health and have virtually no chance of impeding his movement or otherwise stopping him from taking actions (in case the rune giant scores a crit (20% chance), Terry may use his Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier to turn it into a normal hit and avoid the staggering effect). But the giant stupid enough to make an AoO will probably find himself in a very bad situation, as Terry gets to make an AoO of his own before the giant's attack is resolved, as follows:

AoO (Come and Get Me) - trip attempt, 95% chance of success, triggering an automatic reposition and a second and third AoO
AoO (Greater Trip) - power attack using Lockarme, 64 average damage (95% hit chance, 6d6+45 damage), 95% chance of giant shaken and takes -50 ft. speed penalty (speed reduced to -10 ft.) for an average of 4 rounds (+49 Intimidate check vs. DC 36)
Reposition (Wolf Trip) - the tripped giant falls prone adjacent to Terry, as far away from Karzoug as possible
AoO (Vicious Stomp) - power attack unarmed strike, 45 average damage (90.25% hit chance, 6d6+35 damage), 90.25% chance of giant frightened and sickened for an average of 4 rounds
In summary, the giant that tries to make an AoO against Terry takes an average of 109 damage, and there's at least a 90.25% chance the giant also ends up prone, frightened, sickened and unable to move from a bad position. Which also means the hit probability of the giant's AoO has dropped to 10% (+19 vs. AC 38), courtesy of the debilitating conditions and the bonuses of Black Seraph Style.


Standard - Regardless of the above potential exchange of AoOs, Terry arrives in position to make a standard action attack against Karzoug, triggering a chain of events and actions similar to those described above:

Standard action attack - trip attempt, 95% chance of success, triggering an automatic reposition and a second and third AoO
AoO (Greater Trip) - power attack using Lockarme, 64 average damage (95% hit chance, 6d6+45 damage), 95% chance of Karzoug shaken and takes -50 ft. speed penalty (speed reduced to 10 ft.) for an average of 5 rounds (+49 Intimidate check vs. DC 32)
Reposition (Wolf Trip) - Karzoug falls prone adjacent to Terry (on his western side)
AoO (Vicious Stomp) - power attack unarmed strike, 45 average damage (90.25% hit chance, 6d6+35 damage), 90.25% chance of Karzoug frightened and sickened for an average of 5 rounds

And here, the fight is basically over. There is nothing useful Karzoug can do without provoking an AoO from Terry, and just one additional hit will leave Karzoug cowering and unable to take any actions at all. None of the other enemies are really able to stop Terry from making a full attack against Karzoug on his second turn, most likely killing the wizard.