PDA

View Full Version : Zapp Brannigan



elliott20
2007-05-30, 03:53 PM
If you had to use a Zapp Brannigan in your campaign, how would you write him? (or better yet, how would you PLAY him if you're a player?)

Krimm_Blackleaf
2007-05-30, 03:55 PM
If you had to use a Zapp Brannigan in your campaign, how would you write him? (or better yet, how would you PLAY him if you're a player?)

Low cha, reeeeaaaaally low cha. But he can't know it, he'll have to be so full of himself no one can stand him. He's probably also very low level, and probably something like an aristocrat.

Setra
2007-05-30, 03:59 PM
A Bard with 3 Cha.

Or something similar.

Kyace
2007-05-30, 03:59 PM
If you had to use a Zapp Brannigan in your campaign, how would you write him? (or better yet, how would you PLAY him if you're a player?)

High charisma, low wisdom and int fighter with leadership? I'd say he took the Endurance feat even if it doesn't do what he thinks it does.

dyslexicfaser
2007-05-30, 04:02 PM
Probably a medium int score, but very low wisdom.

He can work his ship's death ray, but he doesn't realize it might be bad to unleash it in the middle of his own headquarters, for example.

Good Bluff skill, but abysmal Diplomacy.

I wonder if Kif would be some kind of thrall...

Tokiko Mima
2007-05-30, 04:05 PM
I dunno about low charisma. Zapp has an extremely forceful personality, he just suffers from his inability to percieve how pathetic he truly is. I'd go high charisma, extremely low wisdom, sub-par intelligence, average physical stats. Then I would play him like the stereotypical Paladin, except instead of goodness and lawfulness, he followed narcissism as an ideal.

LiteYear
2007-05-30, 04:12 PM
Charisma would be his highest statistic, due to his forceful personality. Wisdom would by far be his worst stat, evident in his completely inappropriate suggestions and behaviour. Intelligence would probably be low too, since the only real "tactics" he has displayed is to use excessive force.

the_tick_rules
2007-05-30, 04:43 PM
what he is, an idiot who somehow retains command.

Jayabalard
2007-05-30, 04:51 PM
If you had to use a Zapp Brannigan in your campaign, how would you write him? (or better yet, how would you PLAY him if you're a player?)just like the original one... 50% Kirk, and 50% Shatner...

medium high to high charisma, no wisdom, low intelligence

kjones
2007-05-30, 08:21 PM
I actually modeled an NPC in my game after Zapp Brannigan, named Capt. Brage for some reason. He was one of the most memorable and entertaining NPCs I've ever run. He was the captain of the town guard in one of the larger cities in my campaign.

His "catch-phrase" was "I sent in wave after wave of my own men..." which seemed to describe every single military engagement he had ever been in. When his detachment had to defeat a dragon in its lair, he sent in wave after wave of his own men until their dead bodies blocked off the entrance to the cave. He used the idea of making a ramp of corpses to get over the city wall, etc.

I ruled that he actually had quite a few levels of fighter, simply by being present at so many major engagements and staying alive through dumb luck.

He was constantly interrupting the PCs during dialogue, and was boorish, crude, egotistical, and everything else you would expect from Brannigan. Eventually, the players got so pissed at him that they broke into his house, stole his stuff, and skipped town.

As long as you can portray Brannigan's egomania, you've got a character.

Belteshazzar
2007-05-30, 09:59 PM
I used Zapp Brannigan in a current campaign by making him a part of the peacekeeping force. He is a human with a few levels in rogue (and perhaps one in fighter to represent his militaristic bent) really low WIS middling STR ,INT (he isn't completely stupid just a complete bast... hand-and-a-half sword) High CHA, DEX, and CON


Kif I translated into a Blue (psionic goblin) with levels in rogue and psion. High INT, WIS really low CHA, and STR amd Mediocre STR.

I have yet to make them recurring characters but I plan on them being a minor source of inconvenience.

elliott20
2007-05-31, 09:17 AM
Wow, I just realized you could totally make a Zapp Brannigan who is a paladin who has lost his paladinhood but doesn't know it.

High Cha, low Wis, medium int, fighter bent.

I think every campaign needs it's fair share of idiots to make the world feel more... real, I guess.

Closet_Skeleton
2007-05-31, 10:17 AM
Wow, I just realized you could totally make a Zapp Brannigan who is a paladin who has lost his paladinhood but doesn't know it.

High Cha, low Wis, medium int, fighter bent.

I think every campaign needs it's fair share of idiots to make the world feel more... real, I guess.

Shadowbane Inquisitor levels? Or is that too sneaky.

elliott20
2007-05-31, 10:25 AM
nah, that would actually make him competent in some fashion.

I personally think when it comes to characters like Zapp Brannigan, their function is to be the butt end of jokes and to generally just give the players grief throughh being a nuisance, but nothing more.

on the other hand though, I wonder what characters like Fry, Leela, or Bender can bring to the table. As NPCs, they just don't seem like they would work very well beyond as supplimental NPCs would fill out party slots when the party is shorthanded. (Well, except Bender, who would make an excellent part time villain)

Nerd-o-rama
2007-05-31, 04:26 PM
Fry, Leela, and Bender? Commoner (maybe with Bard levels if you want to be nice), Monk, and Rogue. Fairly straightforward, I think. As a team, they could serve as ineffectual but potentially interesting rivals on an adventure. Consider the typical "FedEx" quest, taking an item from one NPC to another. Probably old hat for the PC's, but it's these guys' job.

And all I'd like to add to the discussion of Zapp is that he's definitely not Neutral. (Actually, he's a pretty good match for a very bastardy Neutral or very petty Neutral Evil. But he'll never admit to it.)

Wraithy
2007-05-31, 05:10 PM
not sure about charisma, either very high or very low (doesn't help much).
medium int, LOW wis. when making physical stats remember his weight problem.
"in the game of chess you must never let your opponent see your pieces"

Vuzzmop
2007-05-31, 05:37 PM
" and the ladies will have some sensual salads"

Overuse of the word "sensual"

cha 6
str 10
wis 3
dex 16 (awwwwwww righhhhhhhht!)
con 10
int 6

Deme
2007-05-31, 06:10 PM
And all I'd like to add to the discussion of Zapp is that he's definitely not Neutral. (Actually, he's a pretty good match for a very bastardy Neutral or very petty Neutral Evil. But he'll never admit to it.)

"What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"

kjones
2007-05-31, 07:10 PM
"What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?"

This quote should be invoked in every alignment discussion concerning neutrality on these boards.

Deme
2007-05-31, 07:21 PM
This quote should be invoked in every alignment discussion concerning neutrality on these boards.

That, and: "With enemies, you know where they stand, but with neutrals—who knows? It sickens me."

....
2007-05-31, 07:25 PM
I'd say he took the Endurance feat even if it doesn't do what he thinks it does.

I lol'ed for real.

JaronK
2007-05-31, 07:29 PM
Leila isn't a commoner, she regularly kicks butt. I'd put her as an Unarmed Varient Swordsage with two levels of feat rogue... and she's much higher level than many of the others. Lots of skill points there, and she can kick with the best of them.

JaronK

kjones
2007-05-31, 08:06 PM
Leila isn't a commoner, she regularly kicks butt. I'd put her as an Unarmed Varient Swordsage with two levels of feat rogue... and she's much higher level than many of the others. Lots of skill points there, and she can kick with the best of them.

JaronK

I think you may have misread his post. Fry is a commoner, Leela is a monk (though I would say she's more of a Swordsage/Rogue, as you said... after all, she's a bit of a skillmonkey) and Bender is a Rogue (for obvious reasons.)