The best class for solo games

[Jack99]

I would go fighter or paladin for 4th ed, multiclassing into cleric. The extra heal would be worth it in my opinion.

On a different note, I think solo campaigns have an advantage that they can be tooled closer to the character, so as long as GM and player are working together, you could have a fun and interesting solo campaign with any class.

A cha-based paladin with high wisdom has an insane staying power. He won't be going down anytime soon. He could also have some decent social skills easily.

Aside from that, I have always found the rogue or wizard as the best classes for solo adventures, regardless of the edition.

 

[Protagonist]

The huckster.

 

[TerraDave]

On a different note, I think solo campaigns have an advantage that they can be tooled closer to the character, so as long as GM and player are working together, you could have a fun and interesting solo campaign with any class.

This. I think it would be more challenging to do a 2 player game--and come up with charecters--then a solo one, where the dynamics really change.

 

[Vurt]

If you're playing a 3.5 game and you've got access to Tome of Battle, then a crusader is pretty darn survivable. It gives you a delayed damage pool, and the ability to mitigate some of that damage with the right feats, access to stances that heal someone a little bit with every hit, and strikes that can heal for more when you need them. Add in a smite or two for when your attacks need a little juice, and you've got an alignment-unrestricted paladin archetype done right, IMHO.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I once ran an extended 1e campaign for a single player using a ranger, which was huge fun and he worked well in it. Having 2d8 hp at 1st level really helped! He really fitted well into the lone wanderer archetype, resolving problems and doing good among the communities at the edge of the wilderness.


Mechanically a good 3e/4e class would probably want to have a range of ways of healing himself, and a range of ways of tackling situations. Having plenty of skills is better than not having them. Having access to spells (or psionic powers) is better than not having them - in both cases because it gives increasing ways of resolving a problem other than hitting it . A generally good solo class in 3e would be cleric or druid, both of which have a wide range of options for handling situations. Rogues and to a lesser extent rangers might also work well.

In 4e I could imagine a fun solo game with a player of almost any class, because everyone gets an interesting range of options from his class (and could pick up ritual casting to get access to other useful stuff). Everyone has greater survivability (extra hp, healing surges etc) too.

Cheers

 

[Mallus]

Any.

Single-character campaigns live or die by the NPC support (in terms of both tactical support and role-playing) provided by the DM.

 

[Mercule]

I've always had the best luck with rogue/thief and ranger. The rogue, especially, allows for city-based adventures that take a different approach.

 

[Ruslanchik]

If you want to play the same kind of adventures as a 'normal' D&D campaign, the above answers are all good, and w/ a cohort anything becomes more possible- but if you want the most interesting solo campaign that highlights the best aspects of one-man play then I think rogues or maybe versatile rangers are where its at.

Rogue really does provide a lot more options in terms of missions and goals. Instead of just killing whatever stands in your way, you can sneak about and steal the crown jewels or take out a bandit leader or any number of other things. Ranger provides the same kind of options in a wilderness setting.

Does anyone have any solo experience with 4E? Just looking at the game, it seems like all of the classes are more survivable than their 3E counterparts. I wonder if this translates into more fun.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

In 4th Edition I would steer away from the Defenders. Because even though they have good staying power, they would miss out on their marking abilities since they would often be the only option for the enemies to attack.

 

[blargney the second]

Druid without a doubt in 3.x.

One of the main problems with solo adventuring is getting outnumbered - every single one of the monsters' attacks is going to be directed at you. Just getting an animal companion halves that amount, and even if it dies it's replaceable. Being able to heal it by sharing spells is just gravy.

On top of that, druids get versatile spells, decent skills, decent hp, decent saves, and great class features.
-blarg