Inspiration - Bardic Alternative Residuum/components.

First this is not the Classic Bard of Celtic Myth but rather the entertainer bard with a dash of rogue.

Ritual magic is well miss-flavored for these bards... These types do not gather ritual components, nor residuum for that matter.

They gathering experiences. To this end they spend time and significant money collecting it... this is often by anonymous costume balls or reckless partying where any social connections those parties might normally create are usually burnt down in the process of the experience itself - the experiences are not necessarily positive as feeling is intertwined with hurting. For the Bard themselves these are in the long term meaningless social romps which creating the stuff of Inspiration. It is because of this many folk consider them untrustworthy. (occasionally they will convert inspiration back to a more social influence coin... such as revealing they were responsible for a successful ball or that they introduced that happy couple or similar gambit - functionally like selling residuum).
Sometimes like Shamanics they do spend their coin on Mind Expanding substances but its usually spent acquiring inspiration, long before the performance which uses it.

These experiences they gather function mechanically much like the components for rituals.

Perhaps this could be made to be more formalized but it can work as simply as the reflavoring of purchasing components.

I generally allow the party as a whole to spend time aiding in the gathering of ritual components for the ritual  ... In the case of Bard this can pull other players characters in to the partying - there may be distractions for them as creating the social ties might be more to there interests than the kind of ephemeral inspiration the Bard is after.

Might not be what your looking for, but might be a start for *cough* more inspiration:

- Disallow Bards to buy rituals as usual
- Allow Bards to buy rituals "whenever" with their experience points.
- have Bards perform all these rituals without expending components!

Intention:
Now the more experienced a Bard becomes the more he can do with his Bardic magic. He might know fewer rituals then a wizard but he can use these without holding back. Kind of: "You remember the story I told about the ghost snake and the wall? I think I understand how it did it! -Passwall"
Once the Bard learned something from the experience he learned it, if he uses this experience he does not unlearn anything, reflected by allowing him to cast for free.

Disclaimer:
Obviously if we follow this idea we surly need to check an appropriate exchange value. Obviously this will spell trouble for some rituals as well (I'm looking at you, create magic item!)
But I think it might be an interesting start.

Hmmmm I have been thinking of the inspiration points as though the Bard was subsequently using them to composing a new unique thing with those points.. something which you dont simply learn but have to create fresh to have the impact... like improvised stage performance without which its stale and a pale imitation of what it could be *it basically would lack MAGIC.

.... but I do see how that might not really relate to significant numbers of rituals.

These inspiration points are "experience" that relates to creativity and involve a trade off of wealth and potential contacts for gaining "inspiration" ... where as normal D&D experience reallly doesnt.

Ironically this discussion is reminding me - I once heard a house rule that said if you spent money on trope oriented stuff that wealth garnered experience points... but not if you didnt.