Skills and Skill Tricks as a Bard/Warchanter.

[MarkusWolfe]

I'm planning on playing a CE bard who prestiges into Warchanter. The game starts at level 4, and the earliest I can prestige is level 6. He needs to put ranks into Ride because I intend to do a good deal of my fighting from the back of a mammoth/mastodon. I put 5 ranks into Knowledge(history) for the +2 to bardic knowledge checks and 5 ranks in Use Rope just so that I can use the 'Whip Climber' skill trick from Complete Scoundrel. I maxed out 2 performance skills, and this left with with enough points to max out Bluff and Sense Motive and take Diplomacy, Disguise and Gather Information with one less than max ranks.

For levels 5 and 6, I intend to put one skill point in each of the previously mentioned skills except for Knowledge(History) and Use Rope. The 2 remaining skill points I would get will be eaten up by Whip Climber. When I go into Warchanter, I'll only have 4 skill points to distribute among the social skills (others are eaten up by 2 performs and ride)

So, what I'm asking is this: Of Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information and Sense Motive I can only invest in 4 of them per level. Should I disregard one, and if so which, or rotate my skill investments every level to give them all equal distribution?

Also, does Collector of Stories (also a skill trick from Complete Scoundrel, +5 on Knowledge checks to identify a creature or to learn its special powers or vulnerabilities) apply to Bardic Knowledge checks?

[Cartigan]

I doubt it since I don't think Bardic Knowledge works like that.

[TheifofZ]

The wording for Collector of Stories is as follows:
"When you attempt a trained Knowledge check to identify a creature or to learn it's special powers or vulnerabilities, you gain a +5 competence bonus on the check."
Bardic knowledge, while used in a manner similar to knowledge checks, can only be used to see if the bard knows information about notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. IE: Not monsters.
So: No. Collector of Stories doesn't apply to Bardic Knowledge checks.

As for the skills: That's really your call. Do you feel like you desperately need all of them? Or does one seem like it's not going to be a must-have.
Remember what your role in the party is, and who else you'll have. Maybe someone else can cover for you with a skill, or maybe you can fake one of the skills with another? (Creative application of Bluff works well enough in place of Diplomacy or intimidate, for example)
Because you plan on riding around on a mammoth, personally I feel like Disguise might be a little less than necessary. It's pretty hard to not to take note of that already.

[Socratov]

I'd go for the social tricks (like second impression) and some things that might be nice and handy to know and you can support with your skills.

and no, bardic knowledge is actually a Knowledge(Plot) check. pass it and you know what's happening, fail it and you need to gain another source of information.