Contrary to bizarre conventional wisdom, being piss-ass drunk to the point of slurred speech is not the most efficient state for a bard to be in.

(Not to mention it looks pretty craptactular on about 95% of bard characters, anyways.)

Problem is, drunk shows up in affects but tipsy only shows up in score, so sometimes it is easier to keep track of being drunk.

My own bards just are drunk because Gorach (perpetual elven bard) was always drunk, and I figured he must know what he's doing by now.