The true essence of a bard lies in group combat.Not 1 on 1 like a fighter.What im saying is that most classes are equal in groups, of course a fighter would beat a mage/bard/thief one on one but in group terms the bard is far more usefull than a fighter.If you develop the right strategy the bard can turn a losing battle around.People just mock the bard when they are creating a character.Ive tried all the classes and i found that the bard was the most fun to play with.Maybe you will too if you give the bard a chance.

For some reason, which remains a mystery to me, i like bards... to misquote sean connery in some movie or another, "i like bards, and don't like people who don't". ok, i butchered that quote, but as a professional bard, i think they are a very useful class, especially in tight places. the npc blade came in real handy in the final battle against irenicus, all 5 times that i chose to use him.

true bards can be very usefull and they save having to reform your party because either you have no mage or thief.I dont intend to get edwin but i will get jan hell fit in my party nicely because he has got good spells and good thieving and that my mage and thief taken care of id just have cernd ,minsc,korgan and keldornand that would be my party fo the rest of the game.

Sorry to say it but rather think Bards a re a luxery class
a class you would use if you had a space free or something
I played Bg1 with a bard in my group and found him to be a good fighter using Xbows and longswords and Large shields
I could very much use the low level spell f a bard to kill opponents of
BUT what you do miss in are the high level; spells i think the pickpocketing is just luxery
and think if i would have found more mages in bg1 i would have put away the bard

If you would have a party of 8 people or something you could use luxery classes like a Bard a druid and cleric instead of a ranger/cleric and a monk but that is not the case

BTW what i do have to say is
If Bg was real live i'd probably either be a bard or a mage

yeah same ere i do llike themage aswell they are the most fun classes to go with lets face it.If they combined the bard with a monk and took away the bards use of some weapons it would be the best class around.
And the bard has improved a lot since bg.

A lot of people look as bards as fighters who can identify with lore and cast some spells, and if you look at them that way then they will be a poor substitute for a fighter. Definitely not for powergamers but from a roleplaying point of view they can be very challenging. I'm about to start a game as a jester, just for the fun of it. Off topic from the thread, i also want to try out a totemic druid to see how that is.

No, bards are crap. The most useless class of all.

Furthermore, if your idea of fun role-playing is to be the court jester, you probably wear pink tights to bed and listen to Yanni while practicing playing the "flute". Gad, a party led by a bard? That is so far from my idea of fun in AD&D... In fact, when that class was introduced in 1981, even then I said "What's the point?".

Now the new Bards in IWD may be a vast improvement with many different types of "songs" and stuff. So I'll try one out there. But up till now, all the bards just suck.

I agree with Kael on one point, I would definitely be a Bard if I was living the Vida BGII. We all know bards would get all the chicks.
As to game play, I had a killer bard in Icewind. I restarted just so I could use one. I must admit, they require a higher level of game play. If you want a simple 'throw these 3 spells and swing away' type of gaming experience, stay away from the bard. If you want a realistic, colorful player character that requires some strategy and role-playing, have at it. I think you'll enjoy it.