D&D 5E Solo play class? I LOVE 5E!!!

[Falcon10275]

First let me introduce myself. I am a 38 year old software engineer and I have not had this much fun playing D&D since I was 11 years old playing the boxed versions basic, expert and companion sets.

I am now about 30 hours into 5e. Played 16 hours at Dragon Con and now have done weekly's with my friends with Fandelver and Dragonqueen, I absolutely love this game.

my first big question is, if you were going to run solo through adventures (CR scaled of course) what class would be the most fun solo , I am thinking the rogue? with the sneaking and spell casting? Anyone ever solo a rogue before in 1e, 2e or 3e?


Also, lets say the rogue casts "Fog" which is a 20 ft area of full concealment. Any monsters in that area now have disadvantage. my question is, I am assuming an attacker also has disadvantage because the fog engulfs everyone?

 

[Sacrosanct]

Firstly, I'm glad you're having fun after a lapsed time. I love it when people join and/or come back to this game. More players is always better.

To answer your question, I would say the best solo class is the one you enjoy the most. Most every class has the freedom to customize to be what you want. And with healing from hit dice, you also have some healing functionality without relying on a caster to heal.

For example, one of my PCs is a monk with the urchin background. He's effectively a rogue (being all sneaky and stealthy) without being an official rogue class

My son is playing a druid, and uses animal shape to scout, fight on the front line, whatever is needed. A ton of utility there

One of my other PCs is a halfling fighter also with an urchin background. Sneaky like a rogue, but when he gets into combat, has the staying power of a fighter.


5e really does a good job allowing you to mold your PC what you want, and I think dozens of combinations are great solo classes.

 

[Grainger]

I'm a veteran of BECMI (and a little 2e), and 5e really appeals to me. I stopped playing for many years, due to family commitments, which are less time-consuming now, and 5e seems a perfect jumping-on point to me. It will be interesting to see how many lapsed players it draws back into the fold.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I'm a veteran of BECMI (and a little 2e), and 5e really appeals to me. I stopped playing for many years, due to family commitments, which are less time-consuming now, and 5e seems a perfect jumping-on point to me. It will be interesting to see how many lapsed players it draws back into the fold.

I'm not a lapsed player literally speaking because I never stopped playing D&D. However, I stopped buying D&D after the mid 90s, and stuck with 1e and 2e all these years. 5e is the first edition I've bought since, and enjoy playing. To me, it feels like 5e cleaned up 2e as much as 2e cleaned up 1e.

 

[77IM]

As a one-man party, I've been working up stats for a Half-Elf Criminal Paladin 2/Sorcerer X:
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16; Athletics, Insight, Investigation, Perception, Stealth, Survival, thieves' tools; fencing fighting style; draconic bloodline; longsword+shield+breastplate.

Although if this is solo play you might as well roll for stats and keep rolling until you get something really good...

 

[GX.Sigma]

Also, lets say the rogue casts "Fog" which is a 20 ft area of full concealment. Any monsters in that area now have disadvantage. my question is, I am assuming an attacker also has disadvantage because the fog engulfs everyone?

Attacks have disadvantage because the attacker can't see the target. Technically, you could argue that attacks have advantage because the target can't see the attacker, so they cancel out, and it's a normal attack roll.

 

[mcbobbo]

Attacks have disadvantage because the attacker can't see the target. Technically, you could argue that attacks have advantage because the target can't see the attacker, so they cancel out, and it's a normal attack roll.

Genuinely asking - are there any known ways to see through the fog? Probably not darkvision. Is there still truesight?

 

[GreenTengu]

The game isn't really set up for soloing. No single class is well enough rounded to be able to really solo effectively.

Maybe the best soloing class is Fighter/Rogue/Cleric with Athletics, Deception, Insight, Perception, Persuasion and Stealth . You probably want to focus your spells on utility and healing yourself, use your sword to do damage.

Your equipment should be two short swords or a shield and a rapier.

Your want high dexterity and high constitution, you can let your Strength and Intelligence be your low stats. Wisdom only needs to be 13.

And remember that for this character's adventures, for you an equal CR battle is 1/4th what it would be for a normal party. So you are going to start off fighting rats.

This would be the most well-rounded character you can make in D&D 5E who will be best prepared for most situations that arise in game.


Alternatively, Bards or Monks might be secondary choices for soloing if all the multiclassing seems awkward.

 

[Klaus]

The "best" solo class really depends on the preferred playstyle. If the solo player likes to charge into foes and feel confident on his ability to withstand damage, I'd say Fighter (Second Wind takes care of the self-healing). If the player prefers a stealthy approach, Rogue, Monk, or Trickery Cleric halfling or wood elf are good choices. If the player prefers to have utility, I'd be tempted to make a high elf Abjurer wizard (the protective ward offers a nice hp buff). Finally, there's also the option of having a Necromancer with some undead minions tagging along.

 

[DogBackward]

Maybe the best soloing class is Fighter/Rogue/Cleric with Athletics, Deception, Insight, Perception, Persuasion and Stealth . You probably want to focus your spells on utility and healing yourself, use your sword to do damage.

This is done a lot easier by just using a Paladin and gaining proficiency in Stealth and thieves' tools through your background.