Bard spells for NPC face bardic king

[Albions_Angel]

Hi all,

I am finishing up some NPCs for one of my worlds just now, and I am stuck on one of them.

He is a Marshal 1/Bard 15 diplomancer, and king of one of my larger countries. His whole thing is never having to raise his hand in anger. And hes strutting around with a passive +60 in Diplomacy, +70 when he activates his marshal stance.

Hes not amazingly optimized, hes not supposed to be. Hes supposed to be good enough that anyone 5 levels lower than him wont be able to face him (which I think is true given his Diplomacy).

What I am stuck on is spells. I have a few slots to knock around. Taken all the half elf sub levels, so I already have Command (1st), Zone of Truth (2nd) and Sending (4th), leaving me with 6 0ths, 4 1sts, 4 2nds, 4 3rds, 3 4ths and 3 5ths to play with. (Im going to ignore that he gets to know more spells while his aura is up. Hes not exactly going to be wanting for spells, should any party try and kill him. Either hes too strong and will talk them down within one or 2 spells, or he will die...).

Any tips?

Also, Im looking for some clarity on the level 8 Half-Elf substitution. It says it replaces the 4th level spell I get at 8th level. Bards dont seem to get a 4th level spell at 8th...

[Eldariel]

The sub level by RAW seems to be silly - either have it remove a 3rd level spell known or retroactively remove a 4th one when you get them. Far as spells, for a diplomancer (assuming he actually never fights) the obvious stuff like:
1. Improvisation [SC], Friendly Face [RoD], Unseen Servant, Silent Image (if he still inspires courage, Inspirational Boost [SC] is a must over e.g. Friendly Face or Unseen Servant; Grease is also a superb spell and one of the best ways to embarrass big dumb brutes)
2. Alter Self, Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Miser's Envy [SC] (for combat spells, Glitterdust is huge and Harmonize combines with bardic music)
3. Charm Monster, Glibness, Clairvoyance/Clairaudience, Scrying (Haste/Slow if any interest whatsoever in combat - Blink could be nice for walking through doors but you can just use Dimension Door - Adoration of the Frightful is a nice utility that also grants +1 to diplomacy, but knowledge is power so I'd prioritise divinations)
4. Dimension Door, Dominate Person, Modify Memory (Shadow Conjuration should also be considered for things like Phantom Steed though)
5. Greater Dispel Magic (bypassing magical locks, obstacles, removing magical protections to his mind-affecting abilities, whatever), Shadow Walk (long distance travel), Mass Suggestion (since you're giving up the song)

EDIT: Oh yeah, cantrips. Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Fleeting Fame [DrM], Ghost Sounds, Ghostharp [SC]