Need powergaming advice... interesting support build here

[Klorox]

I'm building a support character who will (eventually) be part of a HOF party. I want him to handle any and all dialogues that I can, and fill a lot of magical support.

The party is well stocked in both the Arcane and Divine magical areas as well (not counting this guy).

So far, this is what I've got:

Druid 12 (Barkskin)/Bard 11 (War Chant of the Sith).

I'm considering adding levels in any of the above classes, but also flirting with the idea of a few Barbarian levels, for the Rage, better speed (run away!) and more HP. Rogue is another idea. I plan on having him with weak physical stats, and although I never want this guy near combat, Evasion might prove very useful.

Would adding more levels in the Bard, or Druid classes help, or am I better off exploring a new class like Barbarian or Rogue (or something else)?

TIA

BTW, I'm not set on a Race for this guy yet either. I do not mind using a race with an ECL penalty, especially since the point of this character is to be a supporter.

I already have 3 Drow in my party though, and 2 Aasimar (I did the prologue with 2 Drow and 2 Aasimar to give the "main characters" a little head-start).

Edit: I switched a whole bunch around!

[Jelaweb]

I've tried more or less exactly the same character...
It came from JUPP (read about Druids or Bards in this document - you'll see Tiefling Rogue 2 / Druid 14 / Bard 14)

[Klorox]

I actually edited the first post after you responded. I've dropped the Tiefling thing and figured I don't NEED the Rogue levels (I want a high INT, and have a Rogue/Wizard type to handle the thiefy stuff).

I just want a good talker who will spend most combats singing and either casting spells or loosing missile weapons (I don't expect to hit often though!).

[Dedigan]

If that's all you want, then you don't really need more than a bard/druid.

So the choice comes down to do you want to work your way up to 6th level bard spells, including the excellent shades and mass haste (bard 18/druid 12) and not get much benifit from your druid levels. Or do you want to get maximum summon spells and mass heal from your bard 11/druid 19 while still getting benifits from lower level bard spells like mirror image and blur/blink.

I would go with the latter, working through the druid levels first to get the maximum benifit from the higher level damaging spells in normal mode, perhaps adding 1 (bonus attack point) or 5 (bonus on all dice rolls) levels of bard at the start. Then the character would pretty much have to be human, or you'll get a lot of experience penalties. But that doesn't matter much, as the character will be out of the main combat zones anyway.

[Klorox]

Thanks a lot, that's a great response!