So I have a few things I want to talk about.

SuperFunHappy

I just got back to playing BG. Question, how does one go about playing a Skald. The class has +1 to hit and damage but he/she can't attack and play bard song at the same time from what I see.

I've come across a possible bug that prevents me from getting into Ducal Palace. I didn't meet Husam earlier and I can't find him in order to get the invitations. I'm not sure if this can be fixed in my current state or if I have to backtrack by loading an old save file.

I've played BG2 before playing BG1 and I don't know what to do with gold. I am playing on normal difficulty.

jmerry

There's nothing wrong with playing a bard that sings almost all of the time, only rarely bothering with attacks or spells. Really, what's better - one attack per round (maybe two, with a bow or throwing daggers) with a worse THAC0 and likely less damage than the party warriors, or +2 to attack and damage on all of their attacks?

It's possible to interleave singing and other actions to some degree. Your song takes effect in "pulses" once per round, and all that really matters is that you're in singing mode when that point in the round comes along. You can get the song's benefit for the round (which has a message in the combat log), do something else immediately, then switch back to singing as soon as you're done with that attack or spell.
If you have Siege of Dragonspear, there's an item in that campaign (the "Bard Hat") which makes this a lot easier by increasing the duration of the song's effect at each "pulse" to a full three rounds. Then, if you're carrying this item when you end the campaign and import to BG2, it'll show up again (in the possession of an enemy) in that game.

On Husam ... he's indeed not there in chapter 7 if you didn't talk to him in chapter 5. But that's OK; you don't need him. All Husam does is tell you where to find Krystin and Slythe, and point you toward one of the many entrances to the sewers. The two assassins are in the Undercellar whether you talked to anyone or not, and there are lots of ways to get to them. Plus other people who can tell you where to look. The only part of the chapter 7 plot before the palace scene that's actually required is acquiring the documents that Slythe is carrying. Everything else is optional.

SuperFunHappy

I've been messing around with a few builds and decided to give Barbarian a go. Should I really bother trying to stack AC or is there no point?

jmerry

Barbarians can't wear heavy armor. That severely limits their AC. Barbarians are not good tanks in the early game against any truly dangerous melee threat; that style of play only works for them once their physical resistances come in, and especially after level 20 when they can add Hardiness to that.
Earlier on with a barbarian, you want to play more like a skirmisher - leverage your movement speed to get in close to important enemies quickly, and retreat whenever you draw too much heat. A quick weapon is good for that.