Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
Well, buy a Wand of Magic Missile and add some Use Magic Device ranks (I wonder if that skill will be changed in 3.5), and see if your bard still can`t cast Magic Missile 
You should not underestimate this skill - many people seem to believe that Wands and Scrolls belong to Sorcerer, Wizards and Clerics, but they miss a point:
THe Cleric usually often wades into melee and is to busy to cast spells, especially from a wand or a scroll.
Wizard and Sorceror have their own spells they steadily throw, and usually they prepare (or learn) spells they use all the time - so they don`t need Scrolls or Wands to augment their casting ability in combat.
Rogues have Use Magic Device, but they also like to sneak attack into combat, searching for flanking positions and avoid getting hit.
But the Bard does not have many spells per day, so he will be depleted of them very fast - he isn`t as good in melee as the Cleric (no augmenting spells) or Rogue (no sneak attack) - but if he has all the wands and scrolls, he can use them to his deadly advantage...
But that aside (since it is mostly off topic ):
I think Elven Bards would make more sense than gnomisch bards, but there are also parts in the description of the gnome (and in his spellike abilities) that indicate he has also a good bardish talent...
If there would be a Mechanist class, it would probably the Gnome`s Favored Class, but (unless you use Dragonstar), there isn`t
Mustrum Ridcully
You should not underestimate this skill - many people seem to believe that Wands and Scrolls belong to Sorcerer, Wizards and Clerics, but they miss a point:
THe Cleric usually often wades into melee and is to busy to cast spells, especially from a wand or a scroll.
Wizard and Sorceror have their own spells they steadily throw, and usually they prepare (or learn) spells they use all the time - so they don`t need Scrolls or Wands to augment their casting ability in combat.
Rogues have Use Magic Device, but they also like to sneak attack into combat, searching for flanking positions and avoid getting hit.
But the Bard does not have many spells per day, so he will be depleted of them very fast - he isn`t as good in melee as the Cleric (no augmenting spells) or Rogue (no sneak attack) - but if he has all the wands and scrolls, he can use them to his deadly advantage...
But that aside (since it is mostly off topic
):I think Elven Bards would make more sense than gnomisch bards, but there are also parts in the description of the gnome (and in his spellike abilities) that indicate he has also a good bardish talent...
If there would be a Mechanist class, it would probably the Gnome`s Favored Class, but (unless you use Dragonstar), there isn`t
Mustrum Ridcully
