1. Always have something infront of you. I don't care if it's the crappiest pet in the world, do it. A tribunal guard and a pet together is total win.
2. Use scrolls to your advantage. A lot of one hit wonders are can be scribed for you. Take advantage of being able to use them, and use them often.
3. Persuade is a game breaker. Most people think of using persuade to make people attack their own group, but they always overlook the other advantage of persuade. Through out the game there are lots of NPCs that you can persuade to cast variouis buffs on you (I'm not telling you which ones of course
). Search them out, buff up, persuade them to sit, and they will hold that buff on you for as long as possible. I find this as a Major advantage, unless of course you have an endless supply of pots.
4. I always used hit and run tatics. You are a bard, you don't have the HPs of a barb, so don't count on living when going into a fight. Always be ready to flee when the guys infront of you start going down. If you do flee, run to the nearest pet shop, or tribunal guard and remake your group real fast and come back before the enemy has time to recoup.
You can also use B Aug to your advantage and kite around someone with a simple power cord. This tatic can be challenging if you don't know your surroundings since it will hit any NPCs with in earshot, so as successful as it can be it can be an equal total failure if you do not know who you are hitting.