Now let me start with this... If you have read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss you know exactly how awesome that series is thus far. If you have not read it then you should because I assure you it will become one of your favorites of all time.
Ok. So not too long ago i found myself building a human bard character for a new 3.5 campaign and while trying to think of a back story couldn't not pull quite a lot of it from this book.
I ended up simply cutting out the whole of the university
and having him preform around the city get a job with a rich noble and then get caught sleeping with the duke's daughter and exiled. After this he ended up roaming around the country learning the less glamorous parts of bard hood (Jack of all trades stuff) and basically living on the dark and crime filled fringes of society. He then joined up with the group for a little more stability and to seek his fortune.
