Playing 5E solo is actually not that hard. I can solo 5E much easier than a game like Pathfinder 2E, as that game requires each player to be a "master of their class" and know a lot about powers and actions, but that game was more built for groups to play than solo players. It is a far stronger game to play as a group, since if you know your class extremely well, you will shine as a player and be on top of everything. Pathfinder 2 is a lot like high-level World of Warcraft raiding, where you need to specialize and know your class, but the "fun level" is amazingly high with mastery and a group of specialized players.
5E is an easier game, and playing a party of 3-4 with one person is not too bad, even with all the action types the game throws at you. I recommend a good character sheet and online character designer, which, for some 5E variants, can be very tough to find. For Tales of the Valiant, I use the Shard tabletop, and the Tales of the Valiant (they call it Black Flag) character sheet can be printed and converted to a PDF using Windows' "print to PDF" feature.
Shard, as a solo-play system, is also solid if you want to go that route. The VTT is 5E-only, and it has some good features, especially for adding custom 5E content to your games.
While we are talking 5E, Shadowdark is also another strong 5E game for solo play, but today we are focusing on more "full-featured" 5E rulesets.
But why Tales of the Valiant and not D&D 2024? For me, the OGL thing they did still hurts, and while it was a needed break from Wizards-dependence, I dislike how Wizards is tying your digital books to their online service. I disagree with the "digital first" and AI direction that Wizards of the Coast D&D is taking, and I still believe in tabletop over the hydra of online-only or AI-assisted play.
Yes, I know, AI-assisted play is huge when playing solo, but if I use AI, it will be on my AI system of choice, and it is not required to play the game. I have ethical concerns in this area, and I want to be free to choose my own provider. I also want the power to say "this is a no AI game" and play unplugged.
In a few years, Wizards will likely announce "AI games" that will work insanely well and draw everyone in. You won't know if you are playing with real people or AI bots. AI bots will fill out roles in the party. Any NPC can join the party and play as a complete player. I don't want that type of future. While solo play is similar to AI-play, I have control over the solo experience.
Tales of the Valiant is also designed to be a learnable system first, with plenty of ease-of-use tools and summaries on character creation intended to get you playing quickly. I love games designed to teach, and even though I know how to play these games, the ones that still take the time to hold my hand and slowly walk through a rule or system to ensure I'm doing things correctly make me smile. Care shown is care returned.
The Game Master's Guide in Tales of the Valiant is also one of the best in gaming, easily a 10/10 book. This helps immeasurably when playing solo, and it is also an idea generation machine.
Tales of the Valiant uses a player-driven "luck" system instead of D&D's inspiration mechanic, meaning you do not need a referee to drive that part of the game, granting inspiration. Luck works according to a defined set of rules based on missed rolls, and players spend it as needed. This is an ideal solo-play improvement to the game, and it removes a referee dependency.
ToV is a great game, a worthy replacement for D&D 2014, and compatible with all past and current D&D adventures and expansions. This is the game that got me back into 5E, and it has some of the best class and subclass designs in the hobby right now, with soft "roleplaying" powers that preserve the mechanical crunch 5E is known for. It is a great system; you can own your PDFs, and the VTT play options are solid and well-supported.
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