Fellow redditor and itch creator Logen_Nein posted a series of articles on reddit detailing how he used the Heroes of Adventure system as the basis for his solo rpg sessions. This is a fantastic example of the system in play and how Logen has adapted the existing roles for solo play.

With Logen’s kind permission I have reformatted the words and re-posted them all here (and added a few images to help set the scene), enjoy the read.

 Part 1 – Character Creation

A very simple, yet interesting, process in HoA. Normally I would think about character background and such before beginning, but this is taken care of by HoA for me so I'm just going to run this by the numbers.

•  Choose a Race: I want to play an outsider with versatile abilities so I'm going to choose Wildling. Doing so sets their Health to 5, their Defence to 9, they know the Common and Elven languages, and they begin with Agility d4, Athletics d4, Magic d4, Ranged Combat d4, and Senses d4. They are Adaptable (may select a class ability from any class) and Long-Lived (have a lifespan of up to 200 years). They also begin with the Alertness ability (advantage on Senses checks). Starting age is 30 - 50 years (I'll roll a d20+30 and get 15 for 45). They begin with some Elven Leven Bread (nourishing, lasts 4 days), and I find that they grew up as a hunter or forager, gaining d4 Wilderness Survival.
•  Choose a Class & Career: With the hunter or forager Wildling background it seems natural to select Ranger which increases their Health by 6 to 11, increases Ranged Combat to d6 and Wilderness Survival to d6, and grants the ability Woodcraft (advantage on Wilderness Survival checks). The character begins with Leather Armour, a Shortbow, 20 Arrows, a Dagger, and 100sp. For the Career I think I'll go with Pathfinder (You resided on the edge of civilisation and built a reputation for ranging deep within the wilderness, exploring ancient trails beyond the realm of man.) From this they gain Melee Combat d4, the ability Dodge (sacrifice your next turn and dodge a hit by making an Agility check greater than the attackers roll {light/no armour only}). They also gain a Bedroll, an Animal Trap, Wolfsbane, and Travel Rations. I also need to mark the location of their settlement and the starting point of an ancient trail they have discovered on the map.
• Having determined their abilities from Class & Career, I need to select the ability they gain from being a Wildling. I'm going with Nature Magic to give them a more druidic air.
•  Generate Background: Now I have to make a series of rolls to determine their background. I get; I came from (8) New Sentra, rural community, I look (2) Old, Ancient, You notice my (9) Skin Type (pockmarked, smooth, hairy), People think I am (6) Practical, Pragmatic, My goal in life is to (10) emulate someone/something, A long time ago (1) Refugee, exiled from somewhere, My secret is (7) I hate (something).
•  Name your Hero: I'll use a suggested name under the Ranger class and go with Kerr.
•  So, my final character looks something like this:

•  KERR THE PATHFINDER
• WILDLING, DRUID
• LVL 1 | HLT 11 | DEF 11
• Skills: Agility d4, Athletics d4, Magic d4, Melee Combat d4, Ranged Combat d6, Senses d4, Wilderness Survival d6
• Abilities: Adaptable, Alertness, Dodge, Long-Lived, Nature Magic, Woodcraft
• Equipment: Leather Armour (+2), Shortbow (d6). Arrows x20, Dagger (d4), Elven Leven Bread, Bedroll, Animal Trap, Wolfbane, Travel Rations, and 100sp.

Originally hailing from the Wildlands, Kerr was forced to flee over 20 years ago from punishment for a crime they didn't commit, making it hard for them to feel anything but hatred toward the pureblooded Wildfolk that exiled them. Now residing close to a small farming community in northern New Sentra, Kerr does all in their power to protect those that have taken them in. Kerr is striving very much to emulate the ancient stories of heroes, particularly of the Wanderer, who explored the lands and fought evil wherever it appeared. The townsfolk would describe Kerr as ancient, their grey eyes and sun scarred skin making them look far older than their meagre 45 years. Above all Kerr is pragmatic, but he strives to be good.

And that's it for character creation. Next time I'll run Kerr through a few encounters as they become aware of a danger to the settlement.

Part 2

And so we begin. Before setting Kerr upon his path, we need to know more about the settlement he is currently living near. This information will be generated from the Heroes of Adventure v0.2 pdf until the Referee's Manual is complete.

• This is a small farming settlement so rather than roll I select the size of a small Hamlet with a population around 50.
• The settlement is located in the (17) Plains, Grasslands of norther New Sentra near the Northern Territories, tapping an online generator we get the name Beckinsdale, and with further rolls fine that town is (12) Interested in the goings on of the region, is ruled by (10) a Mayor or Elected leader, and has suffered recently from (7) Discontent. Beckinsdale also features (7) a Discovery (hmm...) and is near (1) a Monument or Structure.
• I have already decided it is a farming settlement so Crops are what the town has as resources, and the town proper has a (13) Wall, Palisade, (9) a Hall, Longhouse, a (6) Barn, Warehouse, and a (2) Home, Farmhouse for sale.

 Given the makeup of the town, I ask the oracle I'm using if the Mayor has any work for Kerr, and surprisingly the answer is No, so wanting to get Kerr into action I ask for a more complicated answer concerning what can pull Kerr into a story. The oracle indicates Discovering old lore or magic. I ask if this is connected to the Discovery indicated in the town generation? Yes. Is the discovery a location that needs to be explored? Yes. Does Kerr know where the location is? No, and. Now a complex question, who knows where the location is? Plotting against a foe or traitor. Can Kerr track them? Yes, and an NPC appears to help (Beatrix Murstone, Common 1, HLT 5|DEF 8|SKILLS 2, Chubby, Rotund, Aggressive, Arrogant, Secretly Religious, Bullied, Victim (of croc attack), Potter). That's enough to start I think. Let's go!

Kerr returns from a hunting trip (was it successful? Wilderness Survival 17, yes) with a shouldered yearling and dragging a large buck, looking forward to dressing and smoking them to add to the town's supply, and his own, when a stranger approaches his camp. She stomps toward him, her full cheeks ruddy either from the effort of travel, or the anger that also glitters in her eyes. "Oi you," she exclaims, "You work for the Mayor right, do stuff for Beckinsdale?"

"Aye, from time to time," Kerr nods, quirking an eyebrow rather than asking the question.

She continues after crossing her arms and huffing, "I need your help taking back and securing a source of rare clay nearby that I need for my livelihood. I found it a while ago but I just went back for more the other day and was run off by a mean old crocodile that nearly ate me, and broke my wagon out of spite. Help me and I'll tell ye about another secret I found."

"Alright," Kerr nods, thinking this to be easy enough, "I'll take care of the croc. Lead the way..."

"Oh no, I'm not going near that thing again and I only just got back near town. Head east for 3 days to the river's edge near the old willows, you'll find the clay deposit, and that mean old croc. My wagon trail should be easy enough to follow." and with that she turns and stomps off toward town, trusting Kerr to take care of things.

 Kerr spends the afternoon setting up a small smoke hut out of branches and leaves (Wilderness Survival 20) and stashes an animal trap and some wolfsbane near his camp before taking rest for the evening, deciding to leave in the morning.

 Waking to clear morning, Ker sets out, finding Beatrix's wagon trail on the outskirts of town (Wilderness Survival 23) and following it to the east. The weather holds for the trip, and Kerr is careful as he traverses the wilderness, not that he need be, as very little beyond the normal passage of life appears to be on display during his pleasant journey. On the evening of the third day he can hear the rushing of the river that separates New Sentra from the Northern Territories, and he decides to wait until morning to approach the deposit.

 Another fair day greets him as he gathers his things, tamps out the meager fire he had lit, and stalks slowly toward the river, shortbow at the ready. Before long Kerr can see the wagon at the side of the river, one wheel appearing to be damaged, likely when the croc snapped at Beatrix. Though advancing slowly, he doesn't notice any sign of the croc until it hisses at him from a mere 30 yards or so away. Clearly territorial, the croc charges.

• Initiative rolls. Kerr 16, croc 14
• Round 1: Kerr looses an arrow at the crock (Ranged Combat 16, 6-1 dmg) that thuds solidly into it's flank as it dashes towards him in it's thrashing side to side way, jaws open ready to strike.
• Round 2: Maintaining his focus, Kerr fires a second time at the looming beast (Ranged Combat 9, miss) but this time the arrow flies past as the crocs darts from side to side moving close enough snap at it's prey.
• Round 3: Kerr drops his bow and pulls his hand axe off of his belt as the croc snaps at him (7, miss) but Kerr is able to twist out of the way with ease.
• Round 4: Lashing out with his hand axe (Melee Combat 16, 2-1 dmg) Kerr weakly hacks at the croc as it twists to snap at him again (Melee Combat 9, miss) but Kerr remains just out of reach.
• Round 6: Calling upon the forces of nature to aid him, Kerr reaches a hand out toward the croc (Force, Magic vs. Strength, 12 vs. 16, failure) and while buffeted by air and earth the croc pushes through it and attempts to trip Kerr (Strength vs. Strength, 9 vs. 3, success) dropping him to the ground with a powerful tail swipe.
• Round 7: As Kerr rolls away and up into a fighting stance again, the croc snaps at him (Melee Combat 12, 4 dmg) and it finally tastes his blood with a shallow bite.
•  Round 8: With all of his strength Kerr chops at the croc (Melee Combat 19 bleed, 5-1 dmg) burying the blade in the beast's large spade shaped skull, and with a rumble and a hiss, the crocodile dies.

 Wiping his axe off on the grass and hanging it from his belt, Kerr winces as he walks, never limps, over to retrieve his discarded shortbow. With his dagger and a few minutes work and searching (16) he is able to retrieve his arrows. Feeling pained that he had to murder such a magnificent creature, Kerr sets about dressing the carcass while making prayers of absolution to the old gods (Religion 13) gaining only a sense of indifference in return. Perhaps he had not angered them. Unable to render anything usefull from the kill (Wilderness Survival 8), Kerr leaves it for nature, pushing it into the river. He then makes camp to rest from the ordeal, doing some light foraging (Wilderness Survival 14) finding enough nuts and berries for the trip home (4 days worth) before resting for the night.

•   Current Encounter Chance - 12, Experience Earned 7