Finduilas

I don't think there's much need for Stun when you have another attack (Total Focus) that has a high-mag stun and does good damage. Even if you find it useful now, I'd consider dropping it when TF becomes available for either Energy Punch or to make room for the Fighting Pool.

Just out of curiosity, what are the two schools of thought? IMO, for Invul in particular, Fighting is immensely helpful; Tough allows you to cap S/L resistance and Weave makes it much easier to soft-cap defense. The only downsides are that Tough and Weave are relatively high-end toggles and it takes three power picks to get both powers. I'd never say that a Invul tank *must* have Fighting, but if you're looking to maximize survivability, I think it's a no-brainer to take it.

In general, I think soft-capping is more useful overall than Unstop, though if you don't want to spend the influence and effort on soft-capping Unstop is a decent back up, and the crash can be largely mitigated with a little experience. Unstop is a lot less useful on a soft-capped build since you'll rarely have a need for it.

Concerning your current build, IMO it's much better than it was. A couple of notes:

Taunt doesn't need accuracy in PvE, slot it with Range, Recharge or Taunt Dur instead. If you go with sets there are some cheap sets with excellent bonuses like Mocking Beratement.

Combat Jumping is a much better pick than Maneuvers; it has slightly more defense at a fraction of the end cost. And in general I'd recommend dropping Maneuvers on respec, Weave will give you much more bang for the buck.

Scirocco's Dervish is not a great set for Invul, since it primarily gives a positional def bonus and the typed def bonus is for F/C, which should be a low priority for you.

I also think you're taking the resistance passives--ResEl and ResEn in particular--way too early. I'd be inclined to take CJ and start slotting the Fighting Pool at that point and delay ResEn and ResEl until the 30s or even 40s. ResEl is also quite skippable if you're looking for something to drop for Fighting.

So did I, I just 'adapted' it more.

I'd rather slot to reduce endurance woes to begin with; having to use Consume constantly to keep the blue bar filled is not my idea of fun or a particularly effective way of playing, IMO.

Besides, the build I posted gives substantial defense to Energy, the most common damage type after S/L. If you can get that and better end usage at the same time at a reasonable cost, why not do it?

We can tell.

Psst, with tanks, the defense set is the primary and the attack set is the secondary, so it would be WP/TW or WP/MA.

Welcome to tankerdom!

And don't forget, a large HP boost to take even more damage if necessary.

All in all, though SR can be very strong in the lower levels especially, Invul is going to be tougher overall.

BA, AD and GC all have some defense debuff resistance, so if you make sure they're all on in Mids', you'll have around 66% in total, not bad at all.

You can get more defense debuff resistance, but it requires slotting Enzyme Exposures in Active Defense, which increases your DDR to about 79% as an unintended consequence--unintended by the devs, anyway. However, Enzymes are *very* expensive, so that might be a goal that you want to work toward rather than put in your build right away.

Sorry to say, but you'd get a better response in the Tank forum. That's where I and the others who help with tanker builds usually hang out.

Personally, I'd do something like this with your build. It has a little less regen, but a little more HP and recharge, and most importantly, is soft-capped to S/L/E/NE/F/C. Oh, and I dropped Melt Armor--the tanker version is generally considered to be a dog of an attack--and picked up Fire Blast instead.

Hope this helps.

Hero Plan by Mids' Hero Designer 1.952
http://www.cohplanner.com/
Click this DataLink to open the build!
Captin Combustion: Level 50 Natural Tanker
Primary Power Set: Willpower
Secondary Power Set: Fiery Melee
Power Pool: Leaping
Power Pool: Fighting
Power Pool: Leadership
Ancillary Pool: Pyre Mastery
Hero Profile:
Level 1: High Pain Tolerance -- Numna-Heal:50(A), Numna-Heal/EndRdx:50(3), Numna-Heal/Rchg:50(3), Aegis-ResDam/EndRdx:40(15), Aegis-ResDam/Rchg:40(21), Aegis-ResDam:40(34)
Level 1: Scorch -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(5), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(13), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(19), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(19)
Level 2: Mind Over Body -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(5), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(7), RctvArm-ResDam:40(7)
Level 4: Fast Healing -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Numna-Heal:50(9), Numna-Heal/Rchg:50(11)
Level 6: Indomitable Will -- LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(A), LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(11)
Level 8: Rise to the Challenge -- Numna-Heal/EndRdx:50(A), Numna-Heal:50(9), Numna-Heal/EndRdx/Rchg:50(13), Numna-Heal/Rchg:50(33)
Level 10: Combat Jumping -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(17), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(17)
Level 12: Quick Recovery -- P'Shift-EndMod:50(A), P'Shift-EndMod/Acc:50(15), P'Shift-EndMod/Rchg:50(31), P'Shift-End%:50(42)
Level 14: Super Jump -- Winter-ResSlow:50(A)
Level 16: Boxing -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(31), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(36), KntkC'bat-Knock%:35(40)
Level 18: Heightened Senses -- LkGmblr-Def/EndRdx:50(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(21), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(33)
Level 20: Taunt -- Mocking-Taunt:50(A), Mocking-Acc/Rchg:50(43), Mocking-Taunt/Rng:50(43), Mocking-Rchg:50(46), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg:50(48), Mocking-Taunt/Rchg/Rng:50(48)
Level 22: Tough -- RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx:40(A), RctvArm-ResDam/Rchg:40(25), RctvArm-ResDam:40(25), RctvArm-ResDam/EndRdx/Rchg:40(37)
Level 24: Weave -- HO:Enzym(A), HO:Enzym(27), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(27)
Level 26: Resurgence -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 28: Fire Sword Circle -- Erad-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:30(A), Erad-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:30(31), Erad-Dmg/Rchg:30(45), Sciroc-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx:50(45), Sciroc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(45)
Level 30: Build Up -- Rec'dRet-ToHit:20(A), Rec'dRet-ToHit/Rchg:20(34), RechRdx-I:50(34)
Level 32: Maneuvers -- HO:Enzym(A), LkGmblr-Def:50(37), LkGmblr-Rchg+:50(33)
Level 35: Incinerate -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(36), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(36), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(37), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(39)
Level 38: Greater Fire Sword -- KntkC'bat-Acc/Dmg:35(A), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx:35(39), KntkC'bat-Dmg/Rchg:35(39), KntkC'bat-Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:35(40), Mako-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg:50(40)
Level 41: Char -- Apoc-Dmg/EndRdx:50(A), Apoc-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(42), Apoc-Dmg/Rchg:50(42), BasGaze-Acc/Hold:30(46), BasGaze-Acc/EndRdx/Rchg/Hold:30(50)
Level 44: Fire Blast -- Mael'Fry-Acc/Dmg:35(A), Mael'Fry-Dmg/EndRdx:35(46), Mael'Fry-Dmg/Rchg:35(48)
Level 47: Fire Ball -- Ragnrk-Dmg:50(A), Ragnrk-Dmg/Rchg:50(50), Ragnrk-Acc/Dmg/Rchg:50(50)
Level 49: Strength of Will -- S'fstPrt-ResDam/Def+:30(A)
Level 0: Freedom Phalanx Reserve
Level 0: Portal Jockey
Level 0: Task Force Commander
Level 0: The Atlas Medallion
Level 50: Nerve Radial Paragon
------------
Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A)
Level 1: Sprint -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Rest -- RechRdx-I:50(A)
Level 1: Gauntlet
Level 4: Ninja Run
Level 2: Swift -- Run-I:50(A)
Level 2: Hurdle -- Jump-I:50(A)
Level 2: Health -- Numna-Heal:50(A), Mrcl-Heal:40(23), Mrcl-Rcvry+:40(29), Numna-Regen/Rcvry+:50(29), RgnTis-Regen+:30(43)
Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I:50(A), EndMod-I:50(23)
------------
Set Bonus Totals:

• 24.88% Defense(Smashing)
• 24.88% Defense(Lethal)
• 11.13% Defense(Fire)
• 11.13% Defense(Cold)
• 11.13% Defense(Energy)
• 11.13% Defense(Negative)
• 3% Defense(Psionic)
• 13.94% Defense(Melee)
• 7.06% Defense(Ranged)
• 7.06% Defense(AoE)
• 3.6% Max End
• 6% Enhancement(Heal)
• 45% Enhancement(RechargeTime)
• 5% FlySpeed
• 351.4 HP (18.75%) HitPoints
• 5% JumpHeight
• 5% JumpSpeed
• MezResist(Held) 2.75%
• MezResist(Immobilize) 13.2%
• 9% (0.15 End/sec) Recovery
• 114% (8.9 HP/sec) Regeneration
• 20% ResEffect(FlySpeed)
• 20% ResEffect(RechargeTime)
• 20% ResEffect(RunSpeed)
• 2.52% Resistance(Fire)
• 2.52% Resistance(Cold)
• 13% RunSpeed

The difference isn't huge and probably mostly due to the loss of Assault. If it's important to maintain that level of DPS, he could always drop Grant cover for Assault.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

Elena was much too busy in the next few weeks to spend time concocting a reason to call her new neighbor, much less get up the nerve to actually do it. So she was pleasantly surprised one morning when she left for work and saw him walking rapidly down the street just ahead of her.

He could clearly walk much faster than she could in her heels, so rather than run to catch up to him, she gathered her courage and called his name. “Mr. Halstrom—Walter!” He turned immediately and stopped, giving her what seemed to be a genuine smile of welcome as she hurried to meet him.

He was wearing another expensive-looking suit, the lines of which he was callously ruining by standing with both hands in his pockets while waiting for her. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Elena,” he said warmly, offering her his hand. “It seems there is some benefit to being up and about at this gods forsaken hour of the morning.”

“It’s only 7:30!” she laughed, trying not to blush at his compliment, “that doesn’t seem very early to me. Sometimes I have to be at work by now.”

“Gah!” he gave a mock shudder. “I am not by nature an early riser, nor does my work require it, fortunately.”

She gave him a wry smile, “Magical artifacts not an early morning business, I take it?”

“No, of course not,” he replied with an amused glint in his eye, “the stroke of midnight is much more appropriate, wouldn’t you say?”

“Undoubtedly,” Elena agreed, thinking that for once her second impression of someone matched the first—he was just as handsome as she remembered, and even more charming. “Are you walking to the tram, Walter? I’m on my way to work.”

He shook his head, “No, I’m meeting a client a few blocks south of here—one of the rare occasions I do have business this early. But I would be happy to accompany you to the station; it is not out of my way.”

Elena knew she should probably make sure it was on his way, but if he really wanted to walk her to the station, who was she to argue? So she simply smiled and said, “Thank you, I’d like that.”

“Mrs. Goodfield said that you work in King’s Row?” Walter asked politely as they made their way toward the station.

“At the Cyrus Thompson Community Center. I’m a social worker—you know, one of those overworked, underpaid do-gooders,” she added dryly.

Walter snorted, “It seems fundamentally wrong, somehow, that doing good for others should be so poorly compensated. Do you enjoy it?” Then he rolled his eyes and said, “Ah, what a foolish question—of course you must, why would you do it otherwise?”

“Well, I do enjoy it—except for the overworked and underpaid part, not surprisingly.” She cast a sidelong glance at her companion, “So how does one decide on a career in ‘Antiquities and Magical Artifacts,’ Walter? Don’t tell me you can get in a degree in that!”

“Alas, no, Elena. My degrees are in Art History and Historic Preservation,” he shrugged, “the rest came through a combination of avocation and happenstance.”

“So did your parents want you to be a doctor or lawyer like everyone else?” she asked, secretly hoping for a bit of information on his background.

None was forthcoming. His smile faded a bit and he said lightly, “That was never an issue, Elena.”

They reached the station and Walter walked her up the ramp before offering her his hand and saying, “I enjoyed our conversation, Elena, I hope we can continue it sometime. Since it seems we rarely keep the same schedule during the week, perhaps on the weekend?”

If this was angling for a date, she had no hesitation about taking the bait. Elena met his eyes and smiled, “Oh yes,” Yes! “I’d enjoy that.” Very much!

Walter hurried down the ramp from the tram station and started up the street near it. Just then Elena remembered that in the next block there was a corner—right in Walter’s path—where a large group of trolls regularly congregated.

She glanced toward the corner, which he was rapidly approaching, ready to call out and warn him. But to her surprise, the corner was empty.

At that moment Walter looked back, saw her still standing on the platform and offered a friendly wave. She was a little embarrassed to be caught watching him, but returned his wave nonetheless. He passed the corner in question and walked quickly on.

Elena was debating on whether she should drop a hint to Mrs. Goodfield suggesting that she give Walter her phone number when she heard the tram rumble into the station. As she hurried to catch it, she happened to glance down the street where Walter had gone one last time. He was out of sight, but the trolls had reappeared, gathering once more on their accustomed corner.




Walter Halstrom scanned the side of the warehouse looking for something that would confirm it as his destination, at the same time keeping a wary eye on a group of men lounging around a fire in the vacant lot across the street. They appeared to be the homeless unfortunates that can be found in any city, but he recognized them as much more than that. They were Lost; and although he was fairly certain that he was far enough away not to alarm them with his presence, he also knew from experience that they were dangerous, unpredictable and not entirely sane.

There—a small rusty sign with the company name and street address that matched the instructions he had been given. He found a door propped open with a stray brick and cautiously entered. As he had suspected, the warehouse was long abandoned, the floor stained and littered with debris too worthless to pilfer, the only light coming from the long windows in the main room. The person he had come to meet was not in evidence, but he could easily be concealed behind the banks of twisted shelving. “Terry!” he called softly; keenly aware that he had no idea who or what else might be lurking in the building.

“Over here, Doc!” a familiar voice responded, and he followed the voice to see his contact step out from behind some broken machinery.

“Nice place you have here, Terry,” he commented dryly as he walked over to meet him, offering his hand.

Terry Burke was thin, sandy-haired man of medium height wearing a habitual expression suggesting surprise at the fact his life wasn’t worse than it was. “Hey,” he chuckled as he shook Halstrom’s hand, “not the kind of ambeeance you’re used to, Doc?”

“You could say that,” he agreed, folding his arms across his chest. “I presume there’s a reason why you wanted to meet here and not at the shop. Do you have something for me?”

“Yeah, shop’s too public, this is a nice private place to do business,” Terry said with a lopsided smile. “I’ve got something special for you this time.”

Walter sighed, “Such a need for privacy does not inspire confidence, Terry. Do I have to ask you where and how you obtained this ‘something special’?”

“Nah,” Terry assured him, “don’t worry about that.” He grinned, “I promise this beauty won’t show up on any police reports. Here, let me show you,” he said, and reached into the messenger bag hanging from his shoulder.

Walter snorted skeptically, in other words, Terry had ‘acquired’ it from someone who had no wish for it be known that the item had been in their possession. “Terry…” he began, and stopped short when he saw what the other man pulled from the bag.

It was a bronze statue, about a foot high, of a bat-winged woman holding her arms above her head. The figure was robed, but in a way designed to reveal as much as conceal, the robe clinging to her curves. Between her outstretched hands was a fine red crystal; the five-sided based was inscribed with runes of some kind that Walter didn’t immediately recognize. The workmanship was excellent, doubtless what had caught Terry’s eye.

Walter felt a strong urge to swear, but instead forced himself to keep his expression bland. The other man could not see, since he knew Terry was magically ‘blind,’ as were most people not magically gifted, that the statue radiated a very powerful magic aura which was perfectly and alarmingly visible to Walter. Not just powerful, but dangerous; he knew instinctively that whatever its purpose was, it was most assuredly not benign.

Terry held up his prize proudly, “Nice, huh? Interested? I’ll let you have it if the price is right.”

“I’m…interested,” Walter told him, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Here, you want to look at it? It’s the real deal, not some cheap knock-off; see for yourself,” Terry told him, putting the statue in his hands.

Walter realized he’d almost made a misstep; normally he would examine any item offered to him for sale, but in this case he felt a real reluctance to touch the statue any longer than absolutely necessary. His cursory inspection confirmed what he had suspected; it was a one of a kind item, with no maker’s marks or other indications of its provenance. He urgently needed to get it back to his workroom to examine it further.

He handed the statue back to Terry. “How much are you asking?”

He knew from experience that Terry’s initial asking price would be several times what he actually expected to get and he was not disappointed. Terry grinned, “For you, Doc, five large.”

Walter’s snort of surprise was unfeigned, though he hoped to conceal from Terry that he would pay that much or more if necessary. Fortunately however, he was certain he could get it for much less, and indeed Terry would be shocked and suspicious if he failed to haggle. “Terry,” he said, shaking his head in mock disappointment, “how long have we known each other? Are you suggesting that this is the sort of item I could put out in my shop window or list on my website?”

Terry looked uneasy, “I wouldn’t recommend that, Doc. I’d save it for your special customers, I’m sure you have some of those.”

Walter frowned thoughtfully, “Hmm, more trouble means less profit, Terry. I’ll give you one.”

“You won’t find one of these again, Doc! I need four large at least,” Terry retorted.

Eventually he was able to bargain Terry down to two thousand, and the deal was struck. But instead of his usual excitement at a new purchase, Walter traded a stack of bills for the messenger bag with a heavy heart. He had the statue, which was a marked improvement over Terry having it, but what the hell was he going to do with it?




Three days later, PPD headquarters, Atlas Park

Lieutenant Robbins made his way to the door marked “Special Property Investigations” noting with some surprise that it had been at least a year since he had last done so. Still, little had changed, and he easily found the desk he was looking for, occupied by an attractive, dark-haired woman in her thirties who was staring morosely at her computer screen. The name plaque on her desk read ‘R. Menendez’.

She looked up when he slapped the file he was carrying down on her desk, and raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Lieutenant Robbins, to what do we owe this honor? It’s not often that high and mighty homicide detectives grace us with their presence.”

“Just some information, Menendez,” he said, sliding the folder to within her reach.

“Terrence Burke,” she read from the ID tab. She looked up and shrugged, “Yeah, I know him. Buys and sells stuff, sometimes with the permission of the previous owners, sometimes not. Strictly small-time; threat-level on a scale of one to Reichsman, I’d say he rates about a point five.”

Robbins snorted, “Someone didn’t like him.” He opened the folder to reveal what were obviously crime-scene photos of a body lying in a pool of blood. A large pool of blood. “And they decided to let him know—with a sword.”

Menendez gestured to a chair near her desk, inviting him to sit. “That’s…surprising,” she murmured, looking up to meet his eyes, “any leads?”

He sighed, “Bupkis. No witnesses, no useful forensic evidence, and we’ve checked out everything we could in his file. Can’t find any reason why someone would want him dead. Could be a random crazy, but that hardly narrows the field much in this town.”

“Sorry to hear that, Lieutenant, he wasn’t a bad guy. Anything I can help with?”

“There’s just one possible lead we haven’t checked yet. The day before he was murdered he made a cell phone call to a Walter Halstrom. The same name appears listed as a “known associate” in Burke’s file, but there’s nothing in the system on him. I’m going to call him, but I wondered if you could tell me anything about him first.”

Menendez’s face brightened and she nodded, “Yeah, I know Halstrom. There’s nothing in the system on him because he’s clean.”

Robbins snorted, “One of those, huh? What is he then, Family? Crey?”

She rolled her eyes, “No, he’s clean. You know, one of the fine, upstanding citizens we’re here to protect and serve? There are a few of those left.”

“I see damn few of them,” Robbins grumbled. “What’s his story, then? Why is his name in Burke’s file?”

“He has a shop in Founder’s Falls that sells antiques and magical stuff. Burke sells him—sold him—items sometimes.” Robbins opened his mouth to speak but Menendez interrupted, “I know what you’re thinking, but as far as we can tell Halstrom’s business is strictly above board. He files his paperwork on time, pays attention to the property reports, and he’s even helped us with stings a couple of times. My gut tells me he’s an okay guy.”

Robbins eyed her, “Hmm, that’s good to know I suppose, but it would be more useful if you liked him for Burke’s murder.”

She snorted, “Sorry. I just don’t see it.” Menendez hesitated for a moment then offered, “You know, Lieutenant, I could go talk to him if you like, see if he knows anything.”

He eyed her suspiciously, “Since when does the Pawn Shop Detail offer to do leg work for Homicide?”

Menendez shrugged, “It’d save you some trouble, since I know him already…”

A voice from the next desk snickered, “Think he’ll ask you out this time, Rosa?”

An expertly aimed pencil struck the would-be comedian on the side of the head. “Shut up, Collins,” Menendez growled.

Robbins watched the exchange with amusement before standing and heading for the door, “Thanks, Menendez, I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll go speak to him myself.”




Robbins approached the storefront in Founder’s Falls and pressed the buzzer next to the tastefully lettered sign that told him it was Walter Halstrom’s place of business. While he waited for an answer, he mentally reviewed what little he had been able to learn about the man. Thirty-five years old, born somewhere in Germany, green card for six years. Doctorate in Art History from some European university he couldn’t pronounce, Master’s in Historic Preservation—whatever the hell that was—from Columbia. No photo—the RMV database was down again so he couldn’t even pull up a crappy driver’s license picture. He’d considered sending an inquiry to Interpol, but that could take weeks, and probably wouldn’t tell him what he really needed to know; was this guy really on the up-and-up, or was he hiding something behind a law-abiding exterior?

The door opened and the hopeful picture that had been forming in his mind of a sinister criminal mastermind was immediately dispelled. He’d pictured a weedy guy in glasses or even one of those creepy European types that wear a lot of black. Instead, the man who opened the door to him was…big. At least I got the glasses right, he thought ruefully.

The man smiled at him and offered his hand, “Lieutenant Robbins? I’m Walter Halstrom; please come in.” Halstrom was a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing suit pants and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up; a glance told Robbins that the guy definitely worked out. No paunch, either, which made Robbins sigh inwardly, contemplating his own. To Robbins’ eyes, he looked more like a cop than a criminal mastermind, and he definitely didn’t look like what he’d expected for someone with a prissy occupation like selling ‘antiquities’.

Halstrom led him through the shop front and into the back, where there was what seemed to be a combination office and workroom. He motioned Robbins to a chair near the desk and offered him coffee. Robbins accepted and got a ceramic mug of coffee that was surprisingly good—definitely a step up from the vending machine coffee at his office.

Once they were settled, Halstrom broke the ice, “What is this about, Lieutenant? I’m always happy to assist the police if I can, but I am curious why I am talking to you and not the charming Officer Menendez.”

“I’ll tell her you asked about her,” Robbins commented dryly, now understanding the byplay between Menendez and her partner. He was as clueless as the next guy about what women find attractive, but he did recognize ‘ruggedly handsome’ when he saw it. “I’m looking for information on a Terrence Burke, Menendez told me that he’s a regular supplier of yours,” Robbins explained.

“Terry? I know him, but I would describe our transactions as ‘occasional’ rather than ‘regular’,” Halstrom amended cautiously.

“Have you seen or spoken to him recently?” Robbins continued, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible.

He nodded, “Yes, I saw him Tuesday morning; that was the first contact I’d had with him in several months.” Halstrom leaned forward over the desk, his eyes narrowed, “If you don’t mind me asking you a question, Lieutenant, what department are you from? I’m beginning to suspect it is not Special Property.”

So much for the advantage of surprise; there was no point in lying to the man, especially since he’d already admitted having seen Burke. “Homicide,” Robbins said flatly.

Halstrom paled and sat back in his chair, “Terry?”

Robbins sighed, “Yeah, he was found dead in an alley in southwest Steel Canyon late Tuesday night.”

The other man looked faintly sick, and shook his head, “Damn.”

“You two were close?”

“Not really.” Halstrom snorted, “Terry wasn’t an evil man by any means, and even honorable in his own way. I liked him. But I’m afraid that my concern is in part for myself since my life has just become much more complicated.”

“How so?”

He met Robbins’ eyes, “Because I bought something from Terry on Tuesday morning, Lieutenant, and I’d be very much surprised if it is not the reason why he was killed.”

Well, I'd describe it as "in addition to", but essentially, yes.

I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but fully slotted Invinc provides around 9.4% defense to all but Psi with one enemy in range. Each enemy after the first one adds 1.5% defense.

By far the easiest way to see this is use Mids' and make sure Invinc is set to one enemy. But keep in mind that Invul also get defense from Tough Hide--around 6.7% fully slotted.