Would some imm care to comment on why dwarven bards are not allowed? I can SO see drunken dwarven drummers singing rousing tunes to the troops, it seems like a fun role to play. Purely from a game mechanics point of view they'd appear pretty balanced without any special issues, sure they'd be the heartiest of all bards, but with their gruff voices poorer singers than the rest (least natural mana not to mention their only average charisma). Naturally they wouldn't be able to learn to sneak, either.

Also, another pool for fun roles would be halflings as a PC race. Neutral/good, stats something like 17str 19wis 19int 22dex 22con, natural quiet_movement, vuln_blunt, resistant to stuff (magic/disease?). Quite a few classes seem appropriate, which is always good for variety: thief, warrior, ranger, bard, healer and druid. I realize mechanics-wise they'd be quite similar to certain existing races, but that's irrelevant with regard to the new role opportunities they'd offer (which should be welcome on a mud emphasizing RP, right?).