I realise we want backwards compatability, and I agree with that thought. Here are some fixes I think could help the bard alot without throughing the baby out with the bath water:
Spells: Up through second level these are find. After that the bard lags behind everyone else too much. Lets give 0 third level spells at 6th level, 0 fourth level spells at 8th level and 1 at 9th level, 0 fifth level spells at 11th level and 1 at 12th, and finally open up sixth level spells at 14th level with 0 and 1 at 15th.
This doesn't "break" backwards compatability, the paladin and ranger have had these sorts of improvements already, and it gets the bard closer to the other's power level with his spells. Please note it's not the spells or spell levels that put the bard behind the others here, it's how long he has to wait after everyone else has been casting the exact same spells. With my suggestion here he is still behind, but instead of it being 1~2 spell levels behind (2~4 actual class levels) it is only 1~2 levels behind everyone else.
Non-Performance class abilities: Move Jack of all trades down to level 11. Make lore master something you'll want to use by giving it bonuses in combat against monsters identify or just have it give the bard some spells he normally couldn't cast off of someone else's list. Add in some "Bardic Knacks" where the bard can pick up some talents or abilities that resemble some of the abilities others get, or have unique features.
Jack of all trades is a great ability but comes off like an after thought. By the time you get it you won't be wanting to make untrained skill checks anyways. Just get someone in the party that has 20 ranks in the skill to do it. The bard will have 0 ranks and isn't going to succeed at the tasks he'll be performing at level 19 with this ability. Lore Master would be fine but most wizards I know dump into a lot of knowledge skills (the current two at our table have 6+ knowledge skills). If it instead allowed the bard to grab 1~3 spells he normally couldn't cast over the course of his adventuring career it would make since flavorwise (I've travelled a lot and picked up new stuff in different places) and have a decent class ability. New bardic knacks would give new life to the bards "ultimate generalist" concept or at least give reason to look to see what a bard could do offering verisitility that is currently lacking.
Performance class abilities: Make the inspire line of performances a swift action to maintain, and add some scaling to Inspire competence, Inspire greatness, and Inspire heroics, or at least build the bonuses up to something worthwhile. Either open up the range on the offensive line of performances or give it a targetting feature (1 creature per 2 levels or something). Drop dirge of doom to 4th level, Discordant performance to 7th level, Song of freedom to 9th level, Soothing performance at 11th, Frightening song to 9th level, and paralyzing show to 13th.
Making the Inspire line of performances would let the bard actually DO something in combat other than "I sing... I move" without loosing his class abilities. Inspire competence can easily be replace by a simple aid other action by anyone and should have more umpf to make it worthwhile. The bonuses from Inspire greatness are lackluster for the level you get them at and just don't affect enough people, same for Inspire Heroics. Moving the Offensive songs down in levels would put these at spots where they can actually be used against creatures that won't have immunities to most these effects, and none of these abilities are better than spells other characters get at the same levels I've suggested.
Nothing here is huge, rescaling the powerlevel would be a huge step in the right direction for the bard and is perhaps the only looming problem hanging over his head. If you look at all the bardic prestige classes in the splat books they all do 1 of 2 things: Either give him so decent songs to use, or spead up/ improve his spells so they are online with other spellcasters. If you want to have a 20 level bard instead of everyone doing bard 'x'/ seeker of song, sublime chord, thaumturgitic lyrist, etc. then you got to get the scaling down better.
May I also suggest adding more direct damage to the spell list as well. They have none. Even a Cause X Wounds would be nice at this point. I think the lack of spell "punch" is a drawback for the "Ultimate Generalist" class.
If you want to take out enemies efficiently, direct-damage spells in general lack punch. You're much better off with buffs, battlefield-control spells, and save-or-be-disabled effects (the latter of which the bard has in spades).
Creative Director
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I'm not sure that the concept of the bard as the "jack of all trades" is entirely accurate any more. Back in 2nd edition, certainly this was true. But with 3rd edition's relaxation on multiclassing, it's a LOT easier to build a jack of all trades character with the right combo of multiclassing and prestige classes.
Which is why, I believe, the bard design got shifted in 3rd edition to more of a trickster/performer/social type character. (This change was somewhat hampered by the unfortunate fact that the bard was, if I remember correctly, the last class to be worked on during the design process).
Personally, I've thought of the rogue and the bard as brothers in arms. They're the two skill-monger classes; classes that use skills and skill-based abilities to take care of things. The rogue, with his evasion and sneak attack, is the more combat-focused of the two, while the bard, with his bardic music and illusion/enchantment magic, is the more support-based of the two. There's certainly some crossover between them, but the rogue's the one up in combat while the bard's the one who hangs back to support the party with magic.
It's out of combat situations that the bard's role really shines, though, and since the game itself is so focused ON combat, that's a big part of the problem why the bard doesn't often seem to fit well with the rest of the group. But when you have a game that's as much about political intrigue and mystery solving and the like, bards are pretty great.
All of which is a way of me saying: Giving the bard more damage power isn't the way to fix the bard, it's the way to change the bard into something else entirely, and all that'll do is annoy the type of player who wants to play bards in the first place.
It's out of combat situations that the bard's role really shines, though, and since the game itself is so focused ON combat, that's a big part of the problem why the bard doesn't often seem to fit well with the rest of the group. But when you have a game that's as much about political intrigue and mystery solving and the like, bards are pretty great.
That's not true, though. Remember, with no Perform requirement, the Rogue can use all of his 8+Int skill points on social skills.
So the Bard doesn't really have a niche of his own. The Bard might be the cliche social character, but the Rogue does it better when he tries.
-Matt
All of which is a way of me saying: Giving the bard more damage power isn't the way to fix the bard, it's the way to change the bard into something else entirely, and all that'll do is annoy the type of player who wants to play bards in the first place.
I don't want more damage, I want more relevance. I personally feel there are only two real problems with the bard:
1. Lag -- The bard typically gets his abilities too late in the game. By the time his spells are getting decent, everyone else is throwing great spells, after 7th level he lags by at least 1 spell level for the rest of his career. The spells he can cast lose relevance when the cleric, druid, wizard, and even sorcerer, are all casting the 'big boy' versions of said spells. The bard's musical abilities suffer from the same problem; the bard gets them at the same time, or later than he gets the spells that do the same thing. Take the mass suggestion ability the bard gets at eigthteenth level I mean come on! They come too late and have too little effect on play (inspire greatness and heroics can generally only affect one person at a time and aren't so amazing to warrant such treatment).2. lack of diversity -- I love the fact that the bard has had more performance abilities added, I think this is the right way to enhance the bard and was a wonderful decision. I don't think it was taken far enough. I realise that there is a page count to consider, but acting and dancing and playing an instrument are three completely seperate things and shouldn't produce the exact same generic results. With only two 'branches' on the performance tree, it feels more like I'm paying a skill tax for class abilities rather than making solid choices between different career paths.
I think these problems can be solved relatively simply, start the spell progression on spell level 4 and higher 2 class levels earilier with a 0 spell slot (bonus only) then a 1 spell slot at 1 class level lower than it is now. My other thought is just open up some more performance types to their own abilities.
Again the problem isn't damage or lack there of, it's the feeling that I'm behind everyone else the entire time, by the time the bard can do something, everyone else has been doing it for levels, and boredom (mostly in combat) from just having the same meager options level after level. A person plays a bard to be dynamic, different, changing, and flexible. While the bard plays into that some, he doesn't have the 'umpf' yet to care it off like the rogue does.
My problem is that every part of that can be done by a wizard (indeed two wizards in my current shop campaign do this) and sooner/ more effectively than the bard. What's more the wizards can be more effective, and provide more for the group as a whole.
IF the bard is to be the 'best fifth man for the group' he needs to be a good first, second, third, or fourth man too. Otherwise doubling up on one of the first 4 is going to be better than adding mister day-later-dollar-short bard.
We have had 12 different people with 18 different characters rotate through our game, and not once has someone choosen the bard, becuase the other classes are more effective at everything than he is, and can fill in for each other in a pinch just as readily.
Bow out if you wish, I point out the following as making the bard insufficient:
The cleric, The Rogue, The Fighter, The Wizard, The Barbarian, The Paladin, The Monk, The Druid, The Sorcerer, and the Ranger.
Any of those can generally do most of what the bard does, and usually do it better. Most parties would be better off with another of the basic four than a bard.
If we have a party of: Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, and Wizard: then give the party a choice of a fifth member a bard, or another of the first four, most the time they'll grab another of what they have already. Why? Becuase the bard doesn't compare with any of the 'base 4'. He doesn't fill any needed slot, and can't do "just as well" in any of them either.
Look, a Druid can fill in for a Cleric, a Sorcerer for a wizard, A barbarian/ paladin/ ranger for a Fighter, the hardest to replace is the rogue and that's only becuase of trapfinding, otherwise most anything can cover his role as a harasser/ skill monkey. The bard does fit. He can't heal well enough, he can't buff well enough, because his buff spells come too late, he can't fight well enough, and if he wants his class features he can't skill monkey well enough. He's not arcane enough to take over for a wizard either.
Especially with the skill system as it is now. Any class can meet the same skill ranks a bard can meet. Before the bard at least knew that he could rely on his fairly unique skill list to carve him some room. However if anyone can have 20 ranks in anything, then he doesn't even have that. Yes at low levels the +3 class bonus helps, but the higher you get the less it means.
IF we want the bard to be a good choice he needs to be able to fill a role in some way. Either with his music and magic or his other class abilities. Right now he just doesn't cut it.
But prove me wrong. Show me a build that is bard class only and can fill in one of the 'core 4' roles in a party using only beta core rules. If your bard can cover all the bases that a member of the 'core 4' I'll have to rethink my position in it's majority. However I don't think it can be done.
Here's a strange, random, sleep-deprived, off-the-wall idea I just had:
What if, after a time, Bards received the ability to Quicken all their spells for a very-much-reduced spell-level cost? That way, though the Bard would be behind the other casters on level of spells attained and raw numbers of spells, perhaps by letting the Bard's "Quicken progression" match more evenly with other casters' "Quicken progression" (1st-level spells at 9th, 2nds at 11, 3rds at 13, etc), that would help make up for it? A Bard would be behind on overall spell progression, but not-so-behind on "Quicken progression."
The concept could be represented by a Bard being so good at the music behind his spells that he learns to cast them with less effort than before.
The gaping problem that would be fixed here is how after a time, even if a Bard has all the best buff spells, other classes can firing them out as swift actions, while the Bard is stuck spending his standard. This idea goes hand-in-hand with the reasoning behind speeding up Bardic Music activation as well. In a game with full-attacks, the higher level one goes, the more having to spend one's standard action stinks.
Then we could give the Bard all the best of the party-buffing spells. So this way, he could be the best in the game at party-buffing, and he wouldn't have to spend his standard action every round adding to his party's effectiveness. He wouldn't be locked into being solely a buff-bot.
Suddenly, the Bard would finally have a niche, and would finally be the best in the game at something.
-Matt
I was looking at this more for the sorcerer, however it could work with the bard too.
And to expand on what Max is saying, even the 2nd edition Bard had some serious power opportunities, but for different reasons. Bards pulled all of their spells from the wizard/sorcerer list (then just called the mage). And while they never got the same levels of spells as a true mage (bard progression stopped at 6th level spells), the bard's faster level progression ensured that they cast their spells with greater power than any mage of comparable level.
Frankly, the bard of 3.0+ is a completely different animal from its predicessors. While the 1st ed Bard did a lot of things reasonably well, and the 2nd ed Bard was a potentially powerful spellcaster with greater survivability and some fun tricks, the 3.0+ Bard feels like a number of good ideas with some seriously frustrating limitations.
Their fighting abilities are very average. All warrior classes plus monks, rogues and most clerics are better off in a stand-up fight.
Bards' spellcasting suffers from some of the worst aspects of rangers and sorcerers put together (the ranger gets a very limited list of spells and extremely limited castings per day, but can vary what spells they use each day; sorcerers suffer from a lack of versatility, but at least can cast a lot of spells in a day).
Bards have an excellent variety of skills, much like rogues, but come up seriously short as one of their necessary skills is chosen for them (Perform).
That leaves us with the bardic music. These abilities can be nice, but it sort of pigeon holes them in their role within the party: that of the buffer. The problem with that is that Clerics and Druids are both capable buffers and have a lot of other things to offer besides.
I feel like the bard has kind of been lost in the shuffle. There are a few ways I can think of to fix this. Add a progression of choosable feats. Class features that allow you to sacrifice one aspect of the current bard's abilities to gain something else. Ditch them and rebuild from scratch As is, the bard feels like the red-headed stepchild of 3.0+ base classes.
Monks get more attacks with flurry of blows and deal more damage,
Rogues have sneak attack and rogue tricks,
Clerics have Divine Power & Divine Favor plus a whole host of really GOOD buffs,
Druids go wild shape gaining better and more attacks and buffs to help it,
...
Bards... sing a little song getting + 4 to hit and + 4 to damage... at most, which by the way benefits everyone else too.
That's how.
Clerics have Divine Power & Divine Favor plus a whole host of really GOOD buffs,
Plus a better selection of armor while still maintaining casting integrity.
But, yeah, what you said.
Then we could give the Bard all the best of the party-buffing spells. So this way, he could be the best in the game at party-buffing, and he wouldn't have to spend his standard action every round adding to his party's effectiveness. He wouldn't be locked into being solely a buff-bot. Suddenly, the Bard would finally have a niche, and would finally be the best in the game at something.
Matt, I often find myself disagreeing with you, but in this case I think you're on exactly the right track. I would very, very much like to see the 3.5e bard become a bard/marshall class (as Max Money mentioned) -- thus giving him a much-needed core niche and putting him on a par with the other classes. Excellent thoughts on both your parts; consider me a really big fan of this particular solution.
1. Clerics have Divine Power & Divine Favor plus a whole host of really GOOD buffs,... most of the buffs are accessible to Bards as well. Though I am confused by Divine Power and Divine Favor. Where are these in the Cleric class description?
2. Druids go wild shape gaining better and more attacks and buffs to help it,... More attacks topping out at three (claw, claw, bite) with a lower BAB because of secondary attacks which the buffs only offset.
1. See spells. Clerics get a wider list than bards, and those two in particular make the bard's self-buffs look lame in comparison. And, of course, the cleric can fight in heavy armor, use a heavy shield, and throw spells of much higher level, sooner, than the bard can. Does mass harm appear on the bard list? Blade barrier? (And, for the latter, if it did appear on the bard list, could he cast it at 9th level?).
2. Big physical stat boosts (esp. Str), plus things like pounce or improved grapple, plus natural AC boost. And then self-buffing via greater magic fang, barkskin, and animal growth more than compensates for a -2 or -5 on secondary attacks. And, like clerics, they get higher level spells, at lower levels, than the bard does. And a super-pet to flank with.
Clerics and druids are vastly better melee combatants than are bards. Looking only at BAB and HD size is disingenuous; there are a lot more aspects than that. Also, "get the same buffs" isn't true, and even if it were, bards would almost always have to wait until being of higher level to get them, and they never get 7th-9th level spells at all.
So, bards will never be individual melee powerhouses. But they don't have to be. If they could buff the party better than the other classes (which, currently, they cannot) and still be even mediocre fighters, they'd be a class well worth playing. So, more marshall in my bard, please!
You mean like, say, the heal-bot, I mean cleric does?
I don't mind the thought of the Bard becoming a better buffer, but I really think the best points for the Bard are in expanding his music selections.
IF the bard gets more/better buffs, but his spell progression doesn't change, it's not going to matter. By the time he gets too them it'll still be too late.
I don't mind the thought of the Bard becoming a better buffer, but I really think the best points for the Bard are in expanding his music selections. IF the bard gets more/better buffs, but his spell progression doesn't change, it's not going to matter. By the time he gets too them it'll still be too late.
So we make the buffs into music things, and expand their usefulness. Inspire courage is a good start, but what about inspiring better saves, or resistance to negative energy ("the lifting rush of the music causes a surge in your blood and in your very life force, counteracting the banshee's dread wail..."), or whatever? Each round, the bard could activate a single music ability as a swift action; the next round, he could continue the same one (again as a swift action) or switch to a different one as a swift action. This has two major effects:
Here are some thoughts I posted in another thread:
Ok so I've been thinking on the idea of improving the bards performance based chasis, and here's what I have:
1. KaeYoss suggested giving the bard an extra skill point that can only be spent on a perform skill. I like it.
2. With KaeYoss's fix for that problem I'm keeping the skill rank requirements: You'll see why in a minute:
3. Each of these performance types have their own special little thing, In order to use that thing you must keep your skill ranks in that performance type. The following performance types would not allow you to get Dirge of Doom, Discordant Performance, Song of Freedom, soothing performance, Frightening tune, or Paralyzing performance: Perform(dance) and Perform(acting)
Oratory/singing -- Allows bardic music to be used/maintained with a Move action, allowing the bard to have a standard action that can't be used for spell casting.
Perform(instrument) -- Allows bardic music to be used/maintained with a move action, allowing the bard to have a standard action that can be used for casting spells.
Dancing -- Requires the bard to spend a move action every round to keep the dance going. The bard can actually move up to half his movement rate while using the move action to keep the dance going.
NEW DANCES -- these three are gained one at a time at the same time as Dirge of Doom, Song of Freedom and Frightening Tune if the bard has the appropriate skill ranks in perform(dance):
Dance of Evasion -- Any movement by a bard dancing the dance of evasion does not provoke an AoO, while dancing the dance of evasion the bard gets the benefits of the evasion class ability like a rogue.
Dance of Free Movement -- Grants allies within 30 ft of the bard a +20 enhancement bonus to land speed, and an additional attack as part of a standard action. This additional attack is made at full BAB - 5. The bard may include theirself in the this benefit
Dance of Blades -- While dancing this dance the bard make cause up a weapon in her possession to act as if it had the dancing weapon enhancement. The weapon will move with the bard but can always make a full attack on the bard's initiative.
Acting -- Requires the bard to spend an hour at the start of the day "Getting into his Role". Once done he gains the following benefits at the same time as Dirge of Doom, Song of Freedom and Frightening Tune if the bard has the appropriate skill ranks in perform(acting) when a bard uses these abilities he loses half his bardic performance uses for that day (just at the start of the day not each time the ability is activated):
At face Value -- People assume the bard is what he looks to be; All detection spells present information as if the bard was the role he is acting as.
Fill the Role -- the bard may choose one class feature of another class that is gotten by that class at a level equal to or less than 1/2 the bard's class level. In the case of wizard and Cleric spellcasting the bard may choose to prepare his spells for the day off those classes list (he must have a spell book for wizard spells) but only up to spells 1/4 his level in spell level (i.e. he could prepare 3rd level spells at level 12) or his bard list.
Mimic -- The bard may choose to repeat an action that he has just seen performed by another, if the action is the casting of a spell or spell-like ability this uses up a number of bardic performance uses equal to the spell's level. The bard may choose new targets for his mimicked performance.
A bard could get as many sets of performances as he wants, as long as he keeps paying the skill tax on them
If the bard had other performances to help with buffing and getting rid of problem effects that would be good too. Those could go under instrumental music I think, giving another catagory for the bard to choose from.
There is only one way to fix this class.
DELETE IT.
It is, always has been, and always will be the stupidest thing in gaming since letting elves auto-detect secret doors. If you could be a multi classed fighter/rogue/wizard just by running around from place to place, every caravan driver, messenger and outlaw would be one. It's just retarded.
This is how it plays out:
Orgon, the dwarven barbarian swings his nicked and bloodied axe one final time, finishing off the last of the dark cultist of Bane. He surveys the room as he falls to one knee, battered, bleeding and exhausted. His friends Maylee the wizard and Lovar, cleric of Torm, lay dead in the corner. He begins to say a silent prayer...
What the hell is that noise?
His prayer interrupted, he turns to look behind him. Dingleberry the bard is still playing his f'ing lute! Orgon's rage gives him one last burst of energy and he cleaves the little twit in two before collapsing on the ground.
Yeah, I'll take my fantasy with a little more hetero, thanks.
There is only one way to fix this class.
DELETE IT.
It is, always has been, and always will be the stupidest thing in gaming since letting elves auto-detect secret doors. If you could be a multi classed fighter/rogue/wizard just by running around from place to place, every caravan driver, messenger and outlaw would be one. It's just retarded.
This is how it plays out:
Orgon, the dwarven barbarian swings his nicked and bloodied axe one final time, finishing off the last of the dark cultist of Bane. He surveys the room as he falls to one knee, battered, bleeding and exhausted. His friends Maylee the wizard and Lovar, cleric of Torm, lay dead in the corner. He begins to say a silent prayer...
What the hell is that noise?
His prayer interrupted, he turns to look behind him. Dingleberry the bard is still playing his f'ing lute! Orgon's rage gives him one last burst of energy and he cleaves the little twit in two before collapsing on the ground.
Yeah, I'll take my fantasy with a little more hetero, thanks.
Stop playing a flute, dude.
Ideas for your choices:
Performance (rap)-why not?
Performance( Speech)-Inspire
Performance (Pledge)-Be patriotic. You calling your nations pledge un-hetero? Ask any soldier thems' fighting words.
I've been bouncing a number of ideas around in my head for the Bard, trying to find a way to make them more unique and here's what I came up with:
1) Training Specialties: Each bard gets a set of unique abilities based around how they were trained, similar to a Cleric's Domains or a Wizard's School Specialization. A bard trained as a dancer would be different that one trained with a musical instrument at a conservatory or as a skald at a war college. Ex 1: A dancer bard might get an ability called "Dance of Many" which duplicates the Mirror Image spell as a Supernatural ability. Ex 2: A war skald might have access to all simple and martial weapons to reflect their greater range of training.
2) Unique Spellcasting (Spell Performance): Bards no longer get "spells per day". Instead, they get an increased number of Bardic Performances per day (say ((1+Cha modifier)X level)/day) that they can apply to either use for traditional Bardic Performance (Inspire Courage, etc.) or to cast their spells. Spells are cast at 1 Bardic Performance per spell. Metamagic Feats may still be used, but increase the number of Bardic Performances used by the number of levels by which it would normally raise the caster level. The bard would use a Perform check in place of a Spellcraft check to maintain concentration. I imagine it would also increase the difficulty of other spellcasters to identify the spells being cast.
Hopefully, this gets some creative juices flowing.
I've been bouncing a number of ideas around in my head for the Bard, trying to find a way to make them more unique and here's what I came up with:
1) Training Specialties: Each bard gets a set of unique abilities based around how they were trained, similar to a Cleric's Domains or a Wizard's School Specialization. A bard trained as a dancer would be different that one trained with a musical instrument at a conservatory or as a skald at a war college. Ex 1: A dancer bard might get an ability called "Dance of Many" which duplicates the Mirror Image spell as a Supernatural ability. Ex 2: A war skald might have access to all simple and martial weapons to reflect their greater range of training.
Maybe something like I posted in my last long post? It's towards the middle.
Personally I think more performance abilities, keyed to different performance types, and improving the spell progression by a level or two would handle all the bard's problems.
I've been bouncing a number of ideas around in my head for the Bard, trying to find a way to make them more unique and here's what I came up with:
1) Training Specialties: Each bard gets a set of unique abilities based around how they were trained, similar to a Cleric's Domains or a Wizard's School Specialization. A bard trained as a dancer would be different that one trained with a musical instrument at a conservatory or as a skald at a war college. Ex 1: A dancer bard might get an ability called "Dance of Many" which duplicates the Mirror Image spell as a Supernatural ability. Ex 2: A war skald might have access to all simple and martial weapons to reflect their greater range of training.
Maybe something like I posted in my last long post? It's towards the middle.
Personally I think more performance abilities, keyed to different performance types, and improving the spell progression by a level or two would handle all the bard's problems.
Sorry, must have missed that.
no problem it was a long post. :D Since you suggested it too I thought I would solicite your opinion too, which means I needed to make sure you saw it!
no problem it was a long post. :D Since you suggested it too I thought I would solicite your opinion too, which means I needed to make sure you saw it!
Well, I was actually thinking more along the lines of type of schooling as opposed to style of performance (although a certain amount of attention would have to be given to performance type in some cases). However, I do agree that the Bardic Performance needs to be diversified a bit to work better with types of Perform other than singing or musical instrument.
2) Unique Spellcasting (Spell Performance): Bards no longer get "spells per day". Instead, they get an increased number of Bardic Performances per day (say ((1+Cha modifier)X level)/day) that they can apply to either use for traditional Bardic Performance (Inspire Courage, etc.) or to cast their spells. Spells are cast at 1 Bardic Performance per spell. Metamagic Feats may still be used, but increase the number of Bardic Performances used by the number of levels by which it would normally raise the caster level. The bard would use a Perform check in place of a Spellcraft check to maintain concentration. I imagine it would also increase the difficulty of other spellcasters to identify the spells being cast.I like this, but it could simply be (Spells Per Day + CHA mod) x Bard lvl that count for both. In other words, if a Bard has 4 spells per day of a certain level, he has (4+CHA mod) x BrdLvl Bardic Performances per day also, so he can burn up Spell Per Day slots by doing Performances.
That may be too much of a restriction, but I like it. It flows with my proposal well.
You're actually more liberal than me on that. Let's both take your 4th level bard and give him a Cha of 16, a +3 modifier.
Your way would give (4+3)x4 music uses or 28 uses per day for both bardic performances and spells.
My way gives (1+3)x4 music uses or 16 uses per day for performances and spells. And you say yours is restrictive.
Seeing as a current 4th level bard would get approximately (don't have my book with me) 8 spells (lvls 0 and 1) per day and 4 uses of bardic music for a combined total of 12 spells/musics per day.
My method would start (maybe) a little on the low side, but would increase considerably by mid-levels. Your method is freakin' HUGE from the get-go, and I'm not sure that's necessary, plus it complicates the math even further. Just my take on it.
Yeah, but one spell use would eat up four (4) bardic Performance slots!
I was thinking of casting spells with the Bardic Performance on a 1:1 basis, costing more only if metamagic feats were being used. Where are you basing your numbers?