No surprises in the above comments. Confirms the conclusion I had come to myself. I guess the list of spells just didn't conform to my inner vision of what the essence of a bard is smile Time to revise my vision (tm).....

Btw, I understand whacking enemies with the lute but why hand crossbows? I see those mentioned a lot. Is it just that it is what is currently considered "cool" or is there a reason to use those instead of a longbow (now that half elf is not the given choice).