[Psycho]

When running a solo you have to make sure you do a couple of things in the right order... like killing crock before getting the idol.
You can do all quests... become a templar with a single female, get the DD with helm of serenity, get peace,e.a.
After getting the DD, just put it in a chest until you need it, so you can free a slot and wear a better helmet.

If you have been trough the game before, you have a good idea about the monster lvls in all area's... I mean the fixed monsters.
Because a solo levels up much faster than a big party, your level will be higher than the monsters (most of the time). The higher your level compared to the monsters, the lower the impact of spells + there are plenty of items, necklaces, rings to boost your resistances.

In my solo bard game I had magic screen and soul shield... I never used soul shield and often forgot to use magic screen... even without those I survived without problem. Actually, those rynjin are not that hard, because they never come in really large groups and have pretty low HP, the rapax are a lot harder to beat. A fairy ninja will wipe a group of rynjin in a couple of rounds with the CoC. A bard needs a few more rounds, but had the dulcimer to heal if necessary.
With a solo, being insane is not that severe... and turncoat just stops the fight (you're not fighting yourself). Of course there are some really though fights... but running a solo really makes you look for the best tactic, approach to a fight.

Everybody should try a solo if they want a real challenge... and a bard seems to be the easiest char to solo with... especially if you go through the rogue level to get to Arnika and get stealth up.

Signed,
One sick psycho