I dislike bards. In BG1 my bard was just a weaker version of a wizard and in Pillars of Eternity most fights are over before the chanter can cast anything. I cannot imagine any bard ability that does not already exist in a similar way.
Ouch. And frankly speaking, narrow minded
You're wrong about bards being inherently weak when implemented in an RPG. D&D does them badly. 13th Age (all other system references aside) has an excellent and powerful Bard class. They have powerful songs, separate from their spells, which provide a range of bonuses and effects. Each song has a final verse that has a boosted effect when the song is ended, and they can cast spells or fight while singing. Example of a 9th level spell is one that can allow multiple allies a chance to regain uses of expired daily use powers/spells (so for D:OS end some random ally cool downs). Example of a high level song reduces enemies chance to hit and the final verse causes psychic damage. They also get flexible melee attacks and can be built for magic or melee or skills or songs or story/adventure advancement or a mixture of them.
I recommend taking a look at the 13th Age bard as an example of how to make a bard class well (even if you don't like the other parts of the system)
