I have a lv7 bard that is mostly focused on buffing in a Jade Regent game, but after a while, the sheer damage output from the artifact-wielding magus and the fire-sorcerer has convinced the GM that he needs to increase the HP of everything. Even if every encounter is APL+3 or higher. (No XP, just level when he says so)
This makes my bard kinda obsolete. The difference I make is eradicated by the increased HP, and our tactics that relies on killing quickly, since we don't have a healer, are kinda thrown out the window.
I have gotten the go-ahead to alter my character, but I am not sure what to do with him. Debuff? Control? I was contemplating going enchantment-heavy to control enemies, since the super-powered opposition would make for good allies.
First bard I have played in PF, so I am not sure what works and doesn't.
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Send him over to the Alexandrian, and have him read the Death of the Wandering Monster.
Instead of escalating with monster hps, there are better ways to rebalance the game, which keeps the bard in the game.
If not, bards do well with the enchantment and fear lines of spells, getting many of them at the same time as wizards, and before sorcerors in some cases.
When facing opponents that are immune, buff the party or shoot arrows.
It's possible to pew-pew with an Archer Bard. You can get some tips from here. If the campaign is all about damage output and not about buffs (or knowledge), you could retool as an Arcane Duelist or, if you prefer melee combat, a Dervish Dancer.
Dunno how your DM handles Diplomacy, but boosting it and gaining "friends" that way may help. For a time. It sounds like the DM & players are locked in an arms race though (in which the players will always lose, but the campaign will also always lose in the end), so if you start controlling powerful monsters expect to start to face immune ones, and bad guys that dispel, and stuff like that.
But prolly, yeah, the real problem is the DM is letting people rest too much and then getting frustrated that letting them rest means every encounter is a nova encounter. So here is that essay rkraus2 mentioned. The problem probably isn't going to be solved by revamping your character to make it more powerful because then the DM will end up feeling the need to jack the CR to +4 or something. You're right to notice that this ends up being self-defeating and feeling unsatisfying.
P.S. Whatever you do, don't get sucked into being the front-line fighter for two casters; Bards aren't built to tank. Don't build your bard to do that. It's one reason I would actually recommend being ranged Bard.
Arcane Duelist is great...up until level 5. At that point, you need your arcane bond in hand to cast a spell at anytime. In the middle of town, better start waving your weapon around.
Oh....it's an escalation... There's no winning here.
The Death of the Wandering Monster Table is indeed a quit good summation of the problem in that game.
The Magus is allowed to spike in every encounter, aided by the fact that the GM has given him both a scripted artifact, and an unique item that further bolsters his Arcane Pool and gives him healing. So, he is more or less Superman, while the rest of us are closer to Batman.
The sorcerer is based around damage and he favors fire in an adventure that takes us across the arctic circle, so as one would imagine, he does his damaging part rather well.
My bard is effective when there IS a social encounter, and he does knowledges well, to be sure, but it is an AP, and as such, the fight-y bits far outweigh the talk-y bits.
The last PC, a ninja/monk does not even register on the same radar as the rest, and while he does his sneaky stuff well enough, his only redeeming quality in the escalated fight scenes is soaking hits for us with Crane Style.
Ironically, the ninja/monk is the one that the GM thinks is in need of nerfing, which boggles my mind.
So yeah, I might well take your advice, say my part and protest the way things are going, and if things fall on deaf ears, I will focus on debuffing, so fights will go on longer, as both sides will rain misses until round 20 or so.