BlueMajere1: Do you have a better one then?
Yes.
Stats:
Str: 8
Dex: 16
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 10
Cha: 16 > 20
Final Build: Bard 17
Main skills: Knowledge: Arcana, Knowlege: World, Stealth, Mobility, Persuasion (alternatively, if you focus more on combat and less on offensive spells you can get perception pretty high too, but there's a ring for casters that makes that less good)
She gets 1/2 a rank/lvl on all knowledge and lore skills for free, +1 to all skills at lvl 10, train one rank in the lores because why not, they're class skills. Stealth opens up strategic possibilities like opening combat with Fascinate song.
Detailed leveling breakdown:
Lvl 2: Bard - Combat Trick > Weapon Finesse
Lvl 3: Bard - Lingering Performance
Lvl 4: Bard
Lvl 5: Bard - Combat Casting (you need this early since concentration relies on caster lvl and yours' isn't high yet. This will let you cast strong bard cone and close range skills)
Lvl 6: Bard - Fast Stealth (or combat trick two-weapon fighting if you're patient)
Lvl 7: Bard - Outflank
Lvl 8: Bard
Lvl 9: Bard - Spell Focus: Enchantment
Lvl 10: Bard - Combat trick >Blindfight
Lvl 11: Bard - Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment
Lvl 12: Bard
Lvl 13: Bard - Spell Penetration
Lvl 14: Bard - Combat Trick: Two-weapon fighting
Lvl 15: Bard - Greater Spell Penetration
Lvl 16: Bard
Lvl 17: Bard - Improved two-weapon fighting
You want to be melee because it requires less feats and agile weapons do dex to damage while bows do not. You'll always have lousy strength and there are a lot of good agile weapons, especially rapiers which you want to trigger outflank crits. It also keeps you close enough for your offensive songs to hit all the mobs and for your short range spells to be cast withouit moving since most of the midgame you'll be using move actions to switch your songs. You can cast spells on the same trun.
Spells by level in order of importance:
Lvl 1: Grease, Expeditious Retreat, Hideous Laughter, Ear Piercing Shout (great for intteruptring low fort casters), Haze of Dreams (single target slow (staggered = no full attacks), Touch of Gracelessness
Lvl 2: Cacophonous Call, Mirror Image, Glitterdust, Sense Vitals (don't need Heroism as Good Hope is better and you need to keep it up at all times. It's the main reason to play a bard), Sonic Burst (mass counterspell), Blur
Lvl 3: Good Hope, Overwhelming Grief, Thunderous Drums, Crushing Despair, Confusion, Slow (no room for Haste since you have so many good unique Bard options and haste is only per round)
Lvl 4: Echolocation, Serenity, Dimension Door, Greater Invisibility, Hold Monster, Shout
Lvl 5: Cacophonous Call(Mass), Song of Discord, Resonating Word (caster hell), Heroism(Greater), Dispel Magic(Greater), Cloak of Dreams (turn-based to set up coup d'teat)
Lvl 6: Brilliant Inspiration, Euphoric Tranquility, Overwhelming Presence, Cure Moderate Wounds(Mass)
* Glitterdust is solid as a mass blind, but mobs get a save every round. They don't for Cacophanus Call, which also hits more things than hold person. There are other ways to deal with concealment/invis but Dust is a solid failsafe.
Important gear: +Cha/DC relic ring, you can use hat stolen from linnorm to manage encumbrance or belt of physical form or just boogeyman's robe (boosts knowledge checks, fears things you hit with decent DC) and bracers/mage armor, Sentinel Ring to give yourself Spell Resistance.
She will likely be in your party forever. Bards are pretty much THE party buffers in this game. No other class can hold a candle to them in that department. With this build-up she will also be able to trigger outflank AoOs/fears/agile damage when she is not casting and will be moderately competent at that task. Thundercaller bards are infinitely worse than than she is, because she's the key to passing the hardest skill checks for massive exp. No companions are gimped.
Bards are not healers. If your bard has to run in to heal somebody you did something wrong. Heal spells are not taken because she has so many better other things to do.
Enchantment is chosen as bards have amazing selection of those spells, though Evocation is close*. And if enemy has insane will saves you have a lot of fort-tasrgeting spells, and the almighty Grease for reflex.
Use extend metamagic rods. They will give you a lot of bonus time. Yoiur spells will have long durations even without it since you're straight Bard. Your DCs on your songs will be way better, and your songs are insane.
Use Inspire Heroics if you're running Val as a Bard too since she can keep up Courage two-levels behind. There is a spoilerish reason to do this, plus Val gets a nice weapon midgame that makes her a great Bard.
General strategy: buff your party - crush everything, repeat. Drop few control spells here and there. Go full control in really hard ones. Decide if you want to CC something before fight gets messy - it will make more impact on your action economy.
* - an alternative approach is to focus on evocation to use her Bard sonic spells for taking out casters before they can get any spells off, since they all target fortitude which is low on casters and have some sort of stun attached. There's a dagger that gives +4 initiative and you'll get some more from your high dex. If you take improved initiative you'll consistently act before they can get one off.