Well as I see it a Bard belongs to no genre at all and is placed in the Rogue subset merely for convenience as they use similar level progression, THAC0 and saving throws.
A bard is a warrior. Save true warriors no class can use as much armor and weapons as the bard. Especially the subclass Blade is an excellent swordsman.
A bard is a spellcaster. A bard may memorize spells and have triggers and contingencies. No other class than mages and bards can do that.
A bard is a thief. A thief in the true sense of the word. No tricksy trap stuff. Just the ability to actually steal something from people unaware.
And finally a bard is of course... a bard. A bard has the unique ability to instill battle vigor and morale in fellow companions without limitations such as memorizing and so forth.
I my opinion only three of these aspects are covered in bard HLA's, but not spellcasting. And for that I think it could be nice to grant further spellprogression in one or two spell levels above 6. This will in no way turn a bard into a mage, not by a long shot. I reckon a level 40 bard would have 3 lvl 7 spells and 2 lvl 8 spells - and they would have to level to get them just as spell progression is normally. No Timestop or Planetars or anything. Just a wee bit more spells so you don't feel your bard is standing still after level 30.
I am sorry if I am repeating myself. Like someone mentioned above it's like pointing at your nuclear arsenal and complain about the colour. My Blade has been a genuine rollercoaster for quite some time. I use a bit of cheese, but unlike many other classes I find it just within the Bards character to employ all and every talent.
EDIT:
For other reasons I was down in the basement and I found my old collection of 2ed AD&D books. One of the supplements is called "Dungeon Master Option - High Level Campaigns" and is designed to handle level 20-30 characters. Among other things a lot of the HLA's (e.g. Hardiness) come from that book. There is a spell progression table for high level bards in chapter 7 (table 52)
Lvl 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
20 4 4 4 4 4 3 - -
21 4 4 4 4 4 4 1 -
22 4 4 4 4 4 4 2 -
23 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 -
24 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 -
25 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 -
26 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 -
27 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 -
28 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 -
29 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 1
30 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 1
I think it is a misinterpretation of the rules that have lead to the spell level 6 cap, because it is the highest attainable below level 20 for which the original rulebook was designed. I do not live under the false assumption that this proves anything.
FURTHER EDIT (I can't stop!):
I took the liberty of making a 2da file, which use this spell progression table as guideline, but enforces the "max 5 spells pr. level" rule that Black Isle use with additional lowering of 5's and 4's. It can be found here:
www.dsr.kvl.dk/~maddog/mxsplbrd.2da
You need to put it in the override folder, but please remember to backup the existing one found there. It will take effect when you level up. I don't know if I will use it myself yet. It was made in 10 minutes. I think we need some debate first.
[ 04-27-2004, 09:30 PM: Message edited by: mad=dog ]