Looking for suggestions for playing Zap Branagan from Futurama as a full caster...

[samcifer]

So after several sessions of our human artificier playing Rick from Rick and Morty as well as wanting an extreme personality for a potential backup in case my main character dies and I was thinking of doing Zap Branagan, the arrogant, smug, cocky, undeserving and manipulative windbag as some form of caster. The stats I'll have to work with as set by the DM are: 16, 14, 12, 12, 10, and 10 before any bonuses. I was thinking Variant human for the race as well and Unearthed Arcana content is permitted, though I was thinking of avoiding Lore Wizard.

I'd like somewhat higher defenses and was considering taking Mercenary Veteran for access to the Athletics skill to compensate for low strength on things like escaping grapples and for climbing and jumping as the DM seems to favor more physical than mystical obstacles. I was thinking of using the 12s for STR and CON so I'm not too frail, then use the 10s for the two mental stats that aren't for casting. As the dm will alow replacements of the same level as the first character we play when they die, I'd be currently looking at a lv. 5 character.

My main concerns are high accuracy and survivability against mostly physical opponents.

So which caster class would be best for me to go with?

[Kane0]

Well you'd probably want a low Cha to be Zapp so that rules out Bard, Sorcerer and Warlock...

Wizard would probably make more sense than Cleric or Druid, War specifically since he's supposed to be an actual military leader (and a sucessful one off-screen). The extra initiative goes nicely with his brash, decisive attitude and the AC/save boosting abilities will keep you alive longer. Throw in a familiar / humonculus to act as his Kif analogue (ie straight man and voice of reason to be ignored) and you should be gold.

If you want to go with his Cha being unexplainably good but his leadership horrid you could go with Valor Bard or any sort of sorcerer (draconic gives HP and AC) that doesn't do anything himself. Either way his wisdom sucks.

[samcifer]

Well you'd probably want a low Cha to be Zapp so that rules out Bard, Sorcerer and Warlock...

Wizard would probably make more sense than Cleric or Druid, War specifically since he's supposed to be an actual military leader (and a sucessful one off-screen). The extra initiative goes nicely with his brash, decisive attitude and the AC/save boosting abilities will keep you alive longer. Throw in a familiar / humonculus to act as his Kif analogue (ie straight man and voice of reason to be ignored) and you should be gold.

If you want to go with his Cha being unexplainably good but his leadership horrid you could go with Valor Bard or any sort of sorcerer (draconic gives HP and AC) that doesn't do anything himself. Either way his wisdom sucks.

As far as charisma goes, lots of people other than Leela and Kiff act as if he always knows what he's doing and a lot of people look up to him, so I was of the thought that he comes off as really stupid, so the opposite might be true of him.

Actually we have a firbolg druid who's Rick's 'Morty'. I was thinking of making him 'Kiff 2'. :)

[Orhinge]

Very difficult choice, as Zapp really doesn't fit having any decent mental stats (although, really, his physical stats aren't amazing either. His Dex might be decent I guess.).

Honestly, depending on how effective you really want this character to be, you could be Circle of the Shepard Druid, possibly dumping WIS to stay true to the character but you can probably find a way to handwave it. Zapp is, over all, a commander, with the famous strategy of "sending wave after wave of his men to their death" against the killbots. Focus on summoning above all else (starting at level 5 is great, since it's really at 3rd levels spells where you can start properly summoning), maybe buffing too if you don't want to be too terrible. It would fit him to a T, it's even comedic when you consider how expendable summoned creatures really are, he almost COULD look like a great commander, or at least soldiers would be happy that it is those things being sent to their death instead of them.

[Kane0]

Yeah that's fair, in that case you'll want something like a Valor bard or Draconic/Stone sorcerer in order to stay alive as long as possible while also being lazy with buffs/BFC. Poach a couple summon spells even, he's always got goons to spare.
Maybe expertise in deception to make it look like he knows what he's doing 99% of the time.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

Tricky, I would have put him as a rogue with Expertise in Deception, personally (it's how he gets credit for so much).

As a full caster, I suppose that leaves Bard, since that also provides Expertise.

[samcifer]

Well, here he is as a lv. 5 Divine Soul sorc:

STR: 12
DEX: 16
CON: 12
INT: 10
WIS: 10
CHA: 18

AC: 13 (16 with Mage Armor)
INIT: +3
SP: 30'
HP: 35

Rave - Variant Human: +1 DEX and +1 CHA, Toughness Feat

Trained Skills: Athlete, Deception, and Persuasion

Metamagics: Twin and Quicken

Spells:

0: Fire Bolt, Sacred Flame, Minor Illusion, Guidance, and Prestidigitation

1: Cure Wounds (via Divine Magic Alignment), Shield, Chromatic Orb

2: Lesser Restoration, Spiritual Weapon, Scorching Ray

3: Fireball


I figure he's an unwise idiot, but good and manipulating people, so I chose Deception and Persuasion as well as athletics to reflect his former combat training.

[samcifer]

As a divination Wizard:

STR: 12
DEX: 16
CON: 12
INT: 18 (I know, he's not the type, but it doesn't indicate his real intelligence)
WIS: 10
CHA: 10

AC: 13/16 with Mage Armor
INIT: +3
SP: 30

HP: 21

Race: Variant Human - +1 INT, +1 DEX, Feat: Lucky

ASI: +1 INT and +1 DEX

Trained Skills: Athletics (v. human,) Deception and Persuasion (crafted background - Con man - at DM's approval)

Spells:

0: Fire Bolt, Toll the Dead, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation

1: Detect Magic, Chromatic Orb, Shield, Mage Armor, Grease, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Disguise Self, Absorb Elements

2: Mirror Image, Detect Thoughts, Flaming Sphere, Web

3: Fireball, Fly

[samcifer]

And him as a Light Cleric:

STR: 15
DEX: 14
CON: 12
INT: 10
WIS: 18
CHA: 10

AC: 18
INIT: +2
SP: 30'

HP: 33

Race: V. Hum - +1 DEX, +1 WIS, Feat: Weapon Master (+1 STR, Longsword, Rapier, Longbow, Shortsword

ASI: +1 WIS, +1 DEX

Skills training: Athletics (via Mercenary Vet Background), Deception (v. human), Persuasion


Cantrips: Sacred Flame, Guidance, Thaumaturgy, Toll the Dead

Some preffered spells: Guiding Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, Lesser Restoration, Fireball.

[lebefrei]

He's a bard, coasting by life on his charisma and luck, always with the right thing to say that inspires others to believe in him and the cause. Remember, even though we're presented him as a bumbling fool through Leela, he is a respected military commander with legions of followers. They hang on his words, trust him in what he does, and even when he fails he can always spin the words into sounding like a hero, and people keep falling for it. Even Leela fell for it when they first met, she was into him. She has the perception to see through his nonsense, after a time, but many others do not.

[Talamare]

Zapp would probably have like 450 Charisma, and like 4 Intelligence

He consistently convinces EVERYONE (except Leela) to go along with his stupid ideas
He convinced multiple PRESIDENTS that he was a genius!

Edit - Remember that one time he even convinced Leela that the world had ended?

[Zippdementia]

I have to second (third?) the opinion that Wizard is just not right for Brannigan. WAAAAAAY TOO INTELLECTUAL.

No, he’s a blustery and ineffectual leader who rules by Charisma and the unbending idea that everything he does is right.

Hey, that sounds very very much like a paladin to me :)

[samcifer]

I considered Paladin, but they're not full casters. As for bards, I really hate the spell selection for the class. Even with a high intelligence score, he can still play him as a dummy. If a low intelligence score character can be played like they're not incredibly stupid, why can't I play a character who, as female comedian Rite Rudner once described er father. 'the kind of smart that runs around in little circles until it gets stupid again. Like he'd throw me up into the air then answer the phone'.

[Aett_Thorn]

Do you consider Warlocks full casters or not?

Remember that Kiff feeds off of his Charisma like a tiny Charisma parasite. This should mean that Zapp has a decent Charisma. And yes, he has very low Wisdom (let's pilot the ship into that blackish-holeish thing) and very low Intelligence (cham-pag-en?). That leaves Charisma, but you say that you're not a fan of the Bard spell list.

Eldritch Blast could be his laser gun, and this would allow him to have a Decent deception score (Leela just is the only one with proficiency in Insight).

I mean, most of even his off-screen victories are not that great. Against the killbots, he just sent wave after wave of his men until the robots reached their kill limits and shut down. He had a victory over the people of the Pacifist nebula, which isn't that great of an achievement. And against the balls, he was losing so he just decided to blow up their home planet. But yet, he gets people to believe that he's a genius. That's Deception right there, with probably a bit of luck from a 'friend' somewhere out there. Like an Arch-Fey.

[Zippdementia]

I considered Paladin, but they're not full casters. As for bards, I really hate the spell selection for the class. Even with a high intelligence score, he can still play him as a dummy.

Okay, but Zap is actually stupid. This is pointed out many times. He’s not super intelligent playing dumb, he is DUMB (cham-pag-ne). As for magic user, it seems like something you are set on but I can’t tell why. Is this something you actually see fitting the character or just what you want to play?

Also, no. I’m sorry, but if your stats on the page are just there to determine your attack scores and not the actual roleplaying of your character, then you are just being munchkiny. Want to try something fun for roleplaying? Build a low intelligence wizard. Seriously, break the mold. Build a character who shouldn’t be a wizard, who is not good at being a wizard, but hey he’s a wizard. Those characters are fun. Otherwise, you are just playing whatever you want and using stats to give you decent combat attacks. It’s cheesy in my opinion, but whatever you want to do.

The real question here is this: Are you looking to actually stat out and play a fantasy version of Branigan himself, or are you simply looking to play the character you want to play and then slightly theme him to be like Zap Branigan?

Because if it is the former, then you need to adhere closer to the show’s version of Branigan to get it right. He isn’t intelligent, no matter what class you make him. And he probably isn’t a wizard, but that could be argued. If it is the latter, then you don’t need any advice. Just make whatever you want and then roleplay Branigan. You’ll have fun.

[samcifer]

Do you consider Warlocks full casters or not?

Remember that Kiff feeds off of his Charisma like a tiny Charisma parasite. This should mean that Zapp has a decent Charisma. And yes, he has very low Wisdom (let's pilot the ship into that blackish-holeish thing) and very low Intelligence (cham-pag-en?). That leaves Charisma, but you say that you're not a fan of the Bard spell list.

Eldritch Blast could be his laser gun, and this would allow him to have a Decent deception score (Leela just is the only one with proficiency in Insight).

I mean, most of even his off-screen victories are not that great. Against the killbots, he just sent wave after wave of his men until the robots reached their kill limits and shut down. He had a victory over the people of the Pacifist nebula, which isn't that great of an achievement. And against the balls, he was losing so he just decided to blow up their home planet. But yet, he gets people to believe that he's a genius. That's Deception right there, with probably a bit of luck from a 'friend' somewhere out there. Like an Arch-Fey.

I'd never play a full warlock unless we at least were able to start off at lv. 11 or so once they get a 3rd spell slot. Having so few spell slots really kills the class for me. Mc-ing into it is okay as long as the other class has a few more spell slots to offer, but I fail to see how a warlock can do well on their own, esp. without guaranteed short rests between battles. Otherwise I might as well just play a melee class.

On bards, I looked over the spell list and remembered why I hate the class. The spell selection sucks. Few damaging options and lots of weird spells for them and they can't be blasters. I'd rather play Cleric, Wizard or Sorcerer so I can throw around fireballs, radiant beams, etc. as well as have utility spells.

So far, I'm liking the sorc class best for Zap, but I had made an Eldritch Knight that he could be as well that is DEX/INT focused.

[samcifer]

I'm liking Wizard and sorcerer best with cleric close behind. Regardless, he'll have either robes or a cape made of burgundy velour.

[Aett_Thorn]

I'd never play a full warlock unless we at least were able to start off at lv. 11 or so once they get a 3rd spell slot. Having so few spell slots really kills the class for me. Mc-ing into it is okay as long as the other class has a few more spell slots to offer, but I fail to see how a warlock can do well on their own, esp. without guaranteed short rests between battles. Otherwise I might as well just play a melee class.

On bards, I looked over the spell list and remembered why I hate the class. The spell selection sucks. Few damaging options and lots of weird spells for them and they can't be blasters. I'd rather play Cleric, Wizard or Sorcerer so I can throw around fireballs, radiant beams, etc. as well as have utility spells.

So far, I'm liking the sorc class best for Zap, but I had made an Eldritch Knight that he could be as well that is DEX/INT focused.

You don't need to be blasty to make an impact on the battle. There are other ways to contribute in combat.

[Kane0]

What kinds of variants and/or homebrew does your DM go with? A spell point sorcerer is pretty amazing.

[samcifer]

What kinds of variants and/or homebrew does your DM go with? A spell point sorcerer is pretty amazing.

He's pretty flexible. His philosophy is that he wants us to enjoy ourselves. I think as long as it's material put out by WotC (including Unearthed Arcana) or by publishers they work with anything is okay.

[samcifer]

You don't need to be blasty to make an impact on the battle. There are other ways to contribute in combat.

True, but as a caster, I'd like to have a decent number of spell slots to use. A max of 4 slots, even ones that refill on short rests, doesn't sound appealing and there are times where we aren't allowed to rest at all, which hurts the few spell slots a warlock has even more. Also, the spell list is rather limited. :(

[Kane0]

He's pretty flexible. His philosophy is that he wants us to enjoy ourselves. I think as long as it's material put out by WotC (including Unearthed Arcana) or by publishers they work with anything is okay.

It's probably a real long shot, but I can't resist the urge to self-promote my sorc rework.

Otherwise, see if you can convince your DM into a spell point sorcerer with Spell point and Sorcery point pools merged. Take any origin and metamagic/spell choices that suit you from there, it's just a bundle of fun and you won't regret it. Half-elf or Elf opens up the Everybody's Friend feat which nets you Deception expertise without dipping.

[samcifer]

It's probably a real long shot, but I can't resist the urge to self-promote my sorc rework.

Otherwise, see if you can convince your DM into a spell point sorcerer with Spell point and Sorcery point pools merged. Take any origin and metamagic/spell choices that suit you from there, it's just a bundle of fun and you won't regret it. Half-elf or Elf opens up the Everybody's Friend feat which nets you Deception expertise without dipping.

Yeah, if warlocks were full casters I'd play one, but going half your career with only 2 spell slots per rest is too few for my taste. If it was a slot or two more I'd be interested so Can cast at least half the day. I've considered mc-ing with sorc, but that's the only way I'd feel like playing a warlock. I'm also annoyed that Catnap isn't on the spell list of the one class that needs it most.

[Kane0]

I'm also annoyed that Catnap isn't on the spell list of the one class that needs it most.

Check out level three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?537049-Sorcerer-Rework) :smallwink:

Edit: Oops, you meant warlock. Nevermind