WIth the money from these events, I eventually start building up a small but effective group of soldiers to go out and hunt bandits and stuff (that way I could finish the little bit of scripted plot stuff the game gives you at the beginning). I eventually built up a reputation as a minor but skilled prize fighter who consistently wins these melees. The first thing I did is start hitting up the town arenas to participate in the open melees to get some quick and easy cash. I think he was generated to where his family was once low-level nobility, but he doesn't have any land, money, or fame to his name.
My dude starts out as pretty much a nobody.
Here's one of my favorite Mount & Blade stories, because it's so much awesome that happened without any sort of predetermined story scripting.
