What are some good feats for a Bard?

[CrazyYanmega]

Hello once again, Giants! Today's request is much more reasonable and less cheesy than last time. I've made a Sparrow Hengeyoukai Bard, and I was wondering what sort of feats I should take.

Her ability scores are STR 12, DEX 16, CON 8, INT 10, WIS 6, CHA 18. She will be Level 2+1 LA when we start the game. Due to her poor CON score and bad HP roll, I'm probably going to focus on her Enchantment and Illusion spellcasting, and bardic music. I plan on taking the Virtuoso (http://dndtools.eu/classes/virtuoso/) PrC.

[Azoth]

I am always a fan of Doomspeak and Dragon Fire Inspiration myself. If intending to be good Words of Creation are amazing for bardic music buffs.

[DCraw]

I am always a fan of Doomspeak and Dragon Fire Inspiration myself. If intending to be good Words of Creation are amazing for bardic music buffs.

Words of Creation requires Int 15...

If you're focusing on casting and bardic music, you'll probably want Melodic Casting. Lingering Spell can also be useful, but it's less of a priority.

If you're going into Virtuoso, consider also taking 1-2 levels of Sublime Chord after taking your first level of Virtuoso. Sublime Chord casting is better than bard casting, so you progress that with your Virtuoso levels. Meeting the skill requirements might be a bit tough with only 10 int, though.

Are you sure about being a Hengeyoukai? Fly speed is nice, but alternate form doesn't really synergise with your Bardic abilities. You'll need to check whether you can cast or perform while polymorphed. Either way, +1 LA seems a bit steep for what you get. That said, if it's a bit part of your character concept then none of that matters.

[CrazyYanmega]

We're playing a Ravenloft campaign, and I want her to be a bit sinister, so I went the Chaotic Neutral route. Words of Creation won't be an option. Probably not going to go for Dragonfire Inspiration either. But this Doomspeak sounds interesting. How's it work?

EDIT: Let's just say I have my reasons for going the Hengeyoukai route. (http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Mystia_Lorelei)

[Socratov]

my bard never leave home without Lingering Song since after 1 round of performing you free up your hands and actions to do other things.

other nice things include the Extra Music and Metamagic Song shuffle where you spend bardic music to metamagic your spells. When used right extremely powerful, Also useful with Lyrical spell where you burn music instead of spellslots. Those 2 feats make it worthwhile to get flaws and load up on extra music...

[Sith_Happens]

Seconding Melodic Casting. Not only does it let you cast and use scrolls without cutting off your Bardic Music, it saves you skill points by shunting all of the spell-maintenance functions of Concentration into Perform.

[CrazyYanmega]

Melodic Casting, huh? Boosting my effective Concentration from -1 to +9 sounds like a good use of a feat.

EDIT: Are there any feats that would let me replace UMD with Perform?

[SliceandDiceKid]

Pretty positive that's an absolutely not

[Darrin]

We're playing a Ravenloft campaign

You might want to grab the Requiem feat first (Libris Mortis p. 29). The Dirgesinger PrC (same book) might work well in that setting, although crunch-wise it's a bit of a downer (no spellcasting advancement, and most of its abilities require a failed Will save to work).

There are a few Bard ACF's in Expedition to Castle Ravenloft. Undead Bardic Knowledge is kinda meh, but Inspire Turning or Repel Domination might be useful.

[ElBeardo]

Dazzling display is a fun feet to get. You basically wave your weapon around menacingly, making an intimidate check against all enemies within 30 feet. You'll have to take weapon focus, but a plus one to hit is never a bad thing. You could pick a myriad of fun weapons. Throwing Knives, Whips, that sword on a rope thing. It also stacks well with fear effects, something that you will undoubtably have as a bard.

[Phelix-Mu]

Ravenloft always makes me think of Pure Soul, but that only works if you have to worry about Taint rules, and if you do, then Pure Soul will likely irritate your DM (especially if you are going sinister).

I'll second Lingering Song. Action economy is king, and being able to make choices about what to do sooner is good. Melodic Casting is pure gold, especially if you have to do weird stuff in sparrow form due to having to enter enemy squares (not that that is a good idea, mind you, but it may be necessary to be better at defensive casting than the average bard).

I am a big fan of Obtain Familiar. If you go Sublime Chord, I believe that opens up the sor/wiz list, and the awesome of imbue familiar with spell ability. A sparrow with a raven familiar (or maybe you can talk your DM into refluffing for another kind of bird) seems like some awesome visuals. Wonder Bird Twins Activate!