Trigger The hardscale uses the Shield Block reaction, and the opponent that triggered Shield Block is adjacent to the hardscale and is not more than one size larger than it
Effect The hardscale makes an Athletics check to Shove the opponent. This shove doesn't increase the hardscale's multiple attack penalty. If they roll a critical failure, they get a failure instead. If they roll a success, they get a critical success instead.
Attack of Opportunity
Trigger A creature within the monster's reach uses a manipulate action or a move action, makes a ranged attack, or leaves a square during a move action it's using.
Effect The monster attempts a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If the attack is a critical hit and the trigger was a manipulate action, the monster disrupts that action. This Strike doesn't count toward the monster's multiple attack penalty, and its multiple attack penalty doesn't apply to this Strike.
Hardscale Shield Stance
A hardscale always has their shield raised as if they had used the Raise a Shield action, as long as they meet that action's requirements.
Powerful Stench(aura, olfactory)
30 feet. A creature that enters the area must attempt a DC 32 Fortitude save. On a failure, the creature is Sickened 2, and on a critical failure, the creature is also Slowed 1 for as long as it is sickened. While within the aura, the creature takes a -2 circumstance penalty to saves to recover from the sickened condition. A creature that succeeds at its save is temporarily immune to all xulgaths' stenches for 1 minute.
Shield Block
At the beginning of each of their turns, the hardscale receives an additional reaction that they can use only for Shield Block.
Trigger The monster has its shield raised and takes damage from a physical attack.
Effect The monster snaps its shield into place to deflect a blow. The shield prevents the monster from taking an amount of damage up to the shield's Hardness. The monster and the shield each take any remaining damage, possibly breaking or destroying the shield.
Shield Warden
If the hardscale has their shield raised, they can Shield Block when an attack is made against an adjacent ally. If they do, the shield prevents that ally from taking damage instead of the hardscale.
The hardscale deals an extra 1d8 damage with weapons with the shove trait, and weapons with the shove trait gain the deadly 2d8 trait when the hardscale uses them (both the extra weapon damage die and the deadly trait have already been included in the hardscale's warhammer Strike above).