This is a roleplaying game where we are encouraged to use our imaginations!

If I wanted to roleplay a shy dwarf that didn't drink - could I? Why sure! Even though most dwarves are stereotypically loud, abrasive and like to drink. So why not a drow bard?

Maybe drow bards would be limited to tragic repertoire only or something. Who knows? I just don't see any reason why it can't be done. Yes, there are major lines that you just can't cross - like a minotaur outlander, or a duergar paladin. But, I don't think a drow bard falls into that category. Why can't the drow have an artistic side? Maybe its gruesome, maybe it glorifies cruelty, maybe its very dark and chilling, but, that doesn't change the fact it could be art. Like I pointed to before - look at all the paintings in Kteng's lab. What, did Kteng commission some human to come down an paint that?

I realize that bard's are known for singing mostly. But, from a game mechanics side there isn't much else you can have a bard do in combat thats artistic. I mean, are they going to paint you with poison paint or something? Stick a quill in your eye? I feel that bard's are the artisans of the realms and that goes beyond song.