A question for your D&D'ers - playing some D&D solo. Need party composition help

Started by acctingman, January 04, 2019, 04:52:03 PM

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acctingman

I haven't played D&D since the old AD&D days. I'm trying to play through a crap ton of 5th ED D&D modules (solo...no DM, no other players). I'm going to read through the modules and play out all the encounters on the table using some paper minis and a boat load of those Pazio dungeon tiles.

So, my question is.....what's a good 6 party combination these days (mind you....not roll playing, problem solving here...this is straight out plain combat only)? I know enough about the classes but it's been so long, I'm not sure what an optimal 6 class party would be. 1 party member will be a rouge.

Are Rangers viable for a ranged dps class? How good are Monks or Barbarians? I can't see either being a main tank. How valuable are Bards? For what I'm trying to accomplish should I go straight Wizard over a Sorcerer?

Appreciate any comments you D&D'ers might have.

MetalDog

1st level is survivable for all classes now.  3rd level is when a lot of the good stuff starts for each class.  I don't have experience with all of the classes, but, I do with Ranger, Sorcerer, Rogue, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Bard.  I am writing up a Warlock NPC for our new campaign.  I like what I see so far. 

For the spell casting classes, the most important change is how spells are accessed.  You have Cantrips Known, Spells Known and Spell Slots.  Spells Known keeps your spell inventory to a manageable level and Spell Slots allow you the flexibility of choosing which of your known spells to cast without having to declare ahead of time which spells you have memorized.  For instance, Your 1st Level Wizard knows Magic Missile and Sleep.  He has one 1st Level Spell Slot.  He can choose between the two he knows when it is time to cast a spell instead of having to have one or the other memorized in advance.

Armor Class makes sense now.  It goes from 0 to 20+, with 0 being the worst and 20 (or above) being nigh impregnable.  To Hit still uses a d20. 

There's a whole bunch of stuff I like about 5e.  And like you, I have gone from AD&D to 5e.  So, enjoy learning the new system.  And go find a game store with a dedicated D&D group!
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acctingman

Thanks MetalDog

I've played in a group several years back and they are a great group of guys. The problem wasn't them or the DM or even the story. The problem was me. I do NOT like roleplaying or all the crap in between the combat. It's just not my thing. This is just going to be me moving some mini's around on some D&D tiles and chucking some dice and collecting the loot.

Appreciate the info.

airboy

AccountingMan - if you like D&D combat I'd suggest buying Icewind Dale on www.gog.com  It is combat heavy with enough of a story line to keep you moving.

My 6 person party recommendation for ease of play would be:
a] Dwarf Fighter
b] Thief
c] Ranger for distance weapon
d] Cleric
e] Mage 1
f] Mage 2

The cleric is your backup tank to use as a blocker.  The ranger and to a lesser extent the thief provide missle fire. Fighter is the blocker.  A second alternative is turning the thief into a Fighter/Thief - gives you another fighter.  If you just want the thief to open locked things, discover/disarm traps and backstab a Ftr/Thief will do you.

Actually, I would go Fighter/Thief with the fighter specializing in bows & a one hand melee weapon & shield.

JasonPratt

Any of the Bioware classics work well. So do the Gold Box games, for that matter. In both cases you can run your own party rather than relying on NPCs to fill out your ranks, though for Bioware that takes a little finagling. (Essentially, you set up a multiplayer game, import characters you created, and then play it like you're waiting for someone to LAN in. Works perfectly from there.)

The Neverwinter Nights games have been patched up, last I checked, to be sufficiently functional, and unlike the Bioware classics the system was set up for players to create their own campaigns, so I think a lot of modules have been converted? (But quality will naturally be a tossup.) The drawback is that the game system was set up for one player and NPC support, though maybe that was changed for NWN2.
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MetalDog

Quote from: acctingman on January 18, 2019, 09:40:13 AM
Thanks MetalDog

I've played in a group several years back and they are a great group of guys. The problem wasn't them or the DM or even the story. The problem was me. I do NOT like roleplaying or all the crap in between the combat. It's just not my thing. This is just going to be me moving some mini's around on some D&D tiles and chucking some dice and collecting the loot.

Appreciate the info.

You might want to try some of the earlier versions.  I haven't played any, but, it is my understanding that 4th Edition was pretty combat focused.  5e has some great options for their character classes starting at 3rd level.  You might want to upjump some of your party to take advantage of that.  I think you'd have some fun that way.
And the One Song to Rule Them All is Gimme Shelter - Rolling Stones


"If its a Balrog, I don't think you get an option to not consent......." - bob

acctingman

I've played the Icewind Dale games, BG games, NWN, Pillars, etc.....trying to stay away from the PC more these days.

Nefaro

Quote from: acctingman on January 18, 2019, 09:40:13 AM
Thanks MetalDog

I've played in a group several years back and they are a great group of guys. The problem wasn't them or the DM or even the story. The problem was me. I do NOT like roleplaying or all the crap in between the combat. It's just not my thing. This is just going to be me moving some mini's around on some D&D tiles and chucking some dice and collecting the loot.

Appreciate the info.

I'd also suggest trying out D100 Dungeon on DriveThruRPG's site.

Although I was wary at the author's stance of not allowing people to print the game's PDF, I ordered the print-on-demand version after seeing good reviews.  Pen & paper solo dungeon crawl, all in one relatively small book.


EDIT:  I would've included a link to the DTRPG page but they just happen to be doing DB maintenance today.

Toonces

I'm assuming you've tried the D&D boardgames?  I know that's not really within the scope of your original question, but given you're looking more to move minis around a map and fight, they might be worth a look.  I've heard that the games are worth the asking price for the included minis alone.
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acctingman

Quote from: Toonces on January 28, 2019, 09:07:34 PM
I'm assuming you've tried the D&D boardgames?  I know that's not really within the scope of your original question, but given you're looking more to move minis around a map and fight, they might be worth a look.  I've heard that the games are worth the asking price for the included minis alone.

I've played the Ravenloft game and one other, but I can't remember the other title. Also, I've played Gloomhaven. They weren't half bad, but neither would scratch the itch I have.

DennisS

Quote from: airboy on January 18, 2019, 11:06:26 AM
AccountingMan - if you like D&D combat I'd suggest buying Icewind Dale on www.gog.com  It is combat heavy with enough of a story line to keep you moving.

My 6 person party recommendation for ease of play would be:
a] Dwarf Fighter
b] Thief
c] Ranger for distance weapon
d] Cleric
e] Mage 1
f] Mage 2

This is a decent start...but I would swap out one of the mages for an off-tank, and off-healer. Paladin would be perfect for both roles. Having just one tank can get a little hairy, with multiple enemies. Your one tank is fine, but then you have a squishie getting beat up, unless you want your leather wearing thief or ranger to take some damage.

The cleric is your backup tank to use as a blocker.  The ranger and to a lesser extent the thief provide missle fire. Fighter is the blocker.  A second alternative is turning the thief into a Fighter/Thief - gives you another fighter.  If you just want the thief to open locked things, discover/disarm traps and backstab a Ftr/Thief will do you.

Actually, I would go Fighter/Thief with the fighter specializing in bows & a one hand melee weapon & shield.