Viability of a battlefield control Sorcerer party face with only Core?

[ZZTRaider]

It looks like my group will be starting a new campaign this weekend, so I'm trying to figure out what exactly to play.

I'm kind of torn, though, between playing a Diviner Wizard focusing on battlefield control and party buffs, or a Bard to take the role of party face. As a compromise, I'm wondering if I could pull off a Sorcerer to take on both roles.

We'll be starting at level 1 with 15 point buy, and only Core Rulebook material is allowed. (Some non-standard races might be allowed, but no alternate racial traits for any race.)

My biggest concerns are
1) Without access to things like the APG Human favored class bonus and a lot of the awesome non-core spells, I won't be versatile enough in terms of spells known to maintain effectiveness
2) With the low number of skills for Sorcerers, I won't be able to invest properly in all of the skills necessary.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions or recommendations?

EDIT: One more bit of information. Party will typically be me and two others, with a fourth occasionally joining, so the party as a whole won't normally be as well rounded as it could be.

[Atarlost]

I think you'll find the face sorcerer an unhappy compromise.

Bard can do party buffing better than a wizard, though their battlefield control starts and ends with grease.

You might try an enchanter in all but name with a rogue dip. The charm spell will justify some charisma and the rogue dip will get you the class skills. If any outside stuff is allowed see if you can get a wren familiar. The cosmopolitan feat would be better than a rogue dip as well if it's an option.

[Dennis Baker]

Sorcerer does just fine as a face/ primary caster. If you are human, you can leave INT at 10 you get 3 skill points per level which is enough to cover the essentials: Diplomacy and Perception with 1 to spare to split on Spellcraft. Alternately, gnomes are solid, with the Con bonus, you can push up Intelligence to 12.

Consider not boosting your charisma through the roof so you can invest in other abilities, a lot of battlefield control spells don't have saves, you can also boost the DC with Spell Focus if you need.

The problem with Bard is they lose out on the real game changer spells you want for battlefield control like Black Tentacles and the wall spells.

(alternately, just go wizard and spend your a feat on Skill Focus Diplomacy)

[ZZTRaider]

Hm. What bloodline would be best? I'm kind of thinking Arcane for the item bond (I don't think I'll have the skill points for UMD for Improved Familiar fun, and upgrading a ring without the feat would be handy) and extra spells known, but there's a lot of information to dig through to see if I'm missing something better.

Any other opinions on a battlefield control Sorcerer as a party face?

[Xuttah]

I personally had a good time with the core bard as a buff/control caster. Grease, glitterdust, silence...all useful spells at any level, plus bardic abilities and excellent skill points. No slouch in combat either. I strongly recommend arcane strike for your first feat, and max out UMD to keep you versatile at higher levels.