D&D 5E How to bring new character into PotA? *spoilers, obviously*

[JWO]

Hey, I've been running a PotA campaign for a couple of months now and a new guy is about to join. We're just about to head to the Sacred Stone Monastery and we've pretty much tackled everything else in order by the book. The player tells me that his character is an alcoholic half-elf bard who's been roaming the lands for the last 30 years looking for his halfling mentor who was kidnapped from his travelling troupe. Apparently the rest of the troupe were mysteriously silent and reluctant to investigate what happened to him. Is there any way I could tie this in to the campaign? It seems like most of the plot points in the campaign happened relatively recently...

 

[JWO]

How could I have him meet the party? What should he be doing that brings him into contact with them?

 

[77IM]

Clues point to the halfling mentor having gone off in search of something called the "Fane of the Eye." The bard is investigating the elemental cults because he thinks the "Fane of the Eye" might have something to do with elemental evil, and he's uncovered lore that it was in this region. He meets the PCs while they are both trying to sneak in to Sacred Stone Monastery, and joins up with them because they are also fighting elemental evil.

When he finally reaches the fane, the ghost of his halfling mentor explains why he left the troupe and beseeches the bard to help take down the elemental cults. He also implicates the travelling troupe in some way; you can work them in as a "random" encounter or two later on.

 

[DMCF]

Fortunately PotA's primary adventure hook is based upon the disappearance of a delegation. Monster attacks and banditry are on the rise. Eventually the cults will retaliate, so taking out the first few outposts in no way cripples any of the cults.

The alcoholism in the flavor text gives you a lot of wiggle room.

How I'd do it:
There are all sorts of drunks such as affable, energetic and mean spirited. If the troupe didn't say much maybe his mentor was the mean sort, so when he wandered off they decided it was his decision and everyone was better off for it.

The player was the only person the master wasn't so nasty to. The halfing would get drunk and go be a jerk to acrobats and strongmen who could easily take him in any physical match. The player found this hilarious and remained loyal because he had a lot of admiration for the guy and wasn't really affected by his mean streak.

So when the troupe didn't offer to double back the player struck out on his own. He found some tracks near the last camp site. He fears his master may have wandered off and been taken and starts to follow the tracks. That's when he finds the party.

The fate of the master is up to you