[twillight]

I don't plan on running this in the recent days, but once it'd be interesting.

Bard is everything a Fighter is not, and can be seen as any of the other classes with reason, although weaker in any field:
- it can somewhat fight, so don't have to strougle THAT much early game as a mage
- it can cast spells like a mage, or healer, or even druid, but with hugh limitations, lacking any Deva, or the healer-spell which strips all-but-one HP from the enemy (assuming a successful hit AND passing the magic resistance, but that's what reload is for)
- it can set traps as HLA taking the most important aspect of the thief.

And while if you choose a kit, or eg. druid,you can always compensate the idiocity of the choice by dual/multiclassing, so no need to bother coming up with nonsensical ideas like "insane (diffuiculty setting) solo poverty (no item used)" crap, because everyone with half of a brain will do a kensai/mage instead of a pure kensai/mage hunter etc.

So, in theory the weakest class is bard in my eyes, which can't even compensate by dualing/multiclassing with anything else.

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Sex: aside some laying options which influence absolutely nothing doesn't matter (ok, technically females miss the event of copulating with a drow, but that's it).

Race: half-elf. It gives bonus on pickpocket for starter.

Alignment: Neutral Evil. Being evil is good, 'cause:
- you get Larloch's Drain as first baalspawn ability without problem
- you don't have to fight a big group of demons in Watcher's Keep
- won't cause problem if you pick an evil ability from the Tears with your familiar.

Starting Stats:
STR: 10 is minimum to be able to wield most weapons. This should be bare minimum. For all other keep in mind Tomes and the Machine of Lum. With 13 some more types open, like Flails and Halberds. 14 is the requirement of Carsomyr if you want to use it (bard likely would rely on a LOT of item-swapping, so we go for 100/ magic resistance occasionally). Anything else is obsolate, and should use by STR-belt only.
DEX: max it (18).
CON: 16. Well, you can pass with 15 and still get all the benefit, because how the engine handles HP/lvl (be sure to set back the difficulty to Normal when leveling up!)
INT: 18. Sry, no alternative. Ok, bard sux at casting, but why pass on learning all the spells you find if you don't have to? Maybe also effects spell slot amount, so just do it 18.
WIS: 10. Realistically you must have dumpstat, and 10 WIS at least won't mean penalty on Lore. Ok, you could go lower if you really have to for all the Tomes and whatnot, but don't be cheap, k? And if you wish to do some (limited) Wish from scrolls, drink a potion!
CHA: 15. No reason to not make it a dumpstat either, even if the minimum is so high. Cast Friend if you need any more for shopping.

So the bare minimum worth stats looks:
10/18/16(15)/18/10/15

Super optimal stats:
13/18/16/18/10/15

Realistic roll is all stat 14, CHA 15, and 1 more point in store.
If you have any unspent points, dump them into STR to be able to carry around heavier equipment.

Kit: Blade.
Well the choice is between a constant +1 dmg/thac0 and a temporary +2/+2 PLUS an extra attack. There's also the defensive spin (more useful in party, to block doorways, but who knows solo).
I vote Blade, and I assume noone votes pure bard or jester.

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Proficiencies:

This is where comes some very interesting problems, as Bard gain points very slowly. In the original exp-cap you'd end up with only 4 points here, and you only start with 2.
Blade's most promising advantage is, it can put 3 points into Two Weapon Style, but c'mon, first you have to survive to be able to do that!

What BG1 ultimately needs is bow, so there goes one of your two initial points.

What are the weapons in BG1 to use? Well, for starter Bastard Swords fall out for Bard as they go above 10 required STR (I try to go with the minimal worth stats here).
Also keep in mind you want an enchanted weapon ASAP because weapons break in BG1.

Well, you can immediately get a +1 Dagger, what is as good as any. Cast Friend to have the necessary 17 CHA.
Longswords is a second good choice as it also comes semi-early (in Nashkel Mines extrerior), and can hold out as endgame category. It comes also with +2 enchantment, which is very rare in BG1.
If you don't like Longswords you might want Warhammers instead. You have to kill Bassilus for it. Lategame you could use Crom Fayer with this.

Now here comes another question: do you want to kill Drizzt?
One of the methods is to get Bow of Marksmanship, a ton of Arrow of Piercing, and 1 potion of invisibility. attack him, lure him to the lake he won't be able to circumgo, drink the potion, get aorund and shoot until he's dead.
Drizzt has 2 scimitars (which will be lost after BG1), one which is not useable by evil or neutral alignment (I don't know if "neutral" here applies to lawful/chaotic branch too or not! If it does, than bard's can't use it at all!), and another +3 (well, the previous,Defender is technically +5, but by stats only +3 too). The problem with scimitars is, they never come "great", only as "good".

Middle to lategame comes the rest:
- short sword of backstabbing is a +3 weapon, comes at the last chapter of BG1. There're a multitude of "great" short swords, including Haer Dhalis' Chaos Blade, which drains 2 DEX per hit, and if you can pull it out that means death.
- there's the chance to put 3 point into Two Weapon Style
- some staves are overpowered (eg. Staff of the Magi in the Rogue Stone Doorway), and staves come in almost all damage-type (crushing, piercing)
- twohanded swords are an interesting idea, not that they'd be "best", or would absolutely need proficiency to use them. I mean Lilarcor comes as an early +3 weapon to possibly kill iron/adamantium golem in De'Arnise Keep, but you hit it from out of range, so who cares who long it takes? And Carsomyr is for mage-battles where you aim 100% magic resistance with it, so again the duration of the battle won't really count.
- and finally there are axes. One axe in particular, Bala's Axe come sin BG1, and if you consider what can be brought (legally) to BG2 from BG1, that is simply top choice.

Transitioned items from BG1 to BG2 (suggestion):
- golden pantaloon
- helm of Balduran (or Claw of Kazgaroth, but do you rly dare to risk the saving throw penalty in BG2?)
- the armor form the durgars won't really kick butt, so don't bother, take the default
- and finally there's the weapon from the genie. After eliminating the useless sling and cursed (Kiel's Morningstar), and not-in-the-game (the root of the problem) options, and the "meh" +2 weaponry which simply don't worth a quest-reward, you're left with Bala's Axe or Varscona (which is a +2 longsword with +1 cold damage). I vote on Bala's Axe, but it's up to you.
- katanas can hardly be justified given how suxxor they are. The only notable katanas are Celestial Fury (a +3 mediocre blade), Dak'kon's Zerth Blade (like you'd really need that +1 AC and +1 spells that you'd sacrifise an actually useful secondary weapon for it - eg. Crom Fayer -, or a good shield- eg. Shield of Harmony), and finally the UPPED Hindo's Doom, which'd save you from death-magic, but comes so late it is obsolate.

In order my pick would be:
1, 2 - daggers, longbows
3 - long swords
4 - axes/short swords
5, 6, 7 - two weapon style
8-12 - short sword, staff, warhammer, two handed sword, halberds (there's one which kills fire elementals, efreeti and salamanders with no save)

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THIS WAS THEORYCRAFTING! I NEVER PLAYED SOLO BARD (but intend to later to see).

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EDIT: there's no Friend-scroll anywhere in Candlekeep, but you can pickpocket every quester for minor treasure, and the +1 dagger!
Also, you can't bash or lockpick anything, but can't wear almost any equipment either. Settle for a longbow + arrows and a studded leather armour from the shop.