Paladin/Full Spellcaster multiclass build

[Falcon X]

Primary question: I have a Vengeance Paladin who is considering multiclassing into Sorcerer or Bard while remaining martial focused. Will this help or hinder his martial ability?

The idea is that he can get more spell slots to fuel his divine smites, while also allowing him to pull off some spell shenanigans when he feels like it. Still, the focus will be hitting things with a sword and being a tank.

I'm thinking Paladin5/Sorcerer14/Bard1
- Dip in bard just to get 4 more spells and 2 cantrips.
- Level 5 jumpout of Paladin so that he will have 2nd attack.
- Level 14 in Sorcerer to get his lvl 14 ability (Wings for Dragon bloodline).

Secondary questions:
1. Would Bard be better than sorcerer to advance for some reason (More skills, different spells, etc). The sorcerer seems to have more spells that give buffs to martial and gets more spell slots via sorcery points, but then, bard gets more HP, magical secrets, and other awesome stuff.
2. If he did go bard, would Valor Bard give him a 3rd attack, or do they not stack? Otherwise, he already has a second attack, weapon, and armor proficiencies from Paladin and would do better going Lore Bard.
3. As a martial character as a Sorcerer, would Draconic be better (Wings, +1HP/lvl, resistances), or Wild Mage (Some luck boosts and random effects shenanigans). The player will probably like the idea of luck and chaos, but that +1HP/level is hard to ignore.

Thank you for your thoughts and opinions.

[edit] I forgot how great Paladin6 abilities are. Likely it will be Paladin6/Spellcaster14 now.

[Kd7sov]

I'm not much of an optimizer, but I wanted to note that unless some fairly specific houserules are in play the first part of the stated purpose won't work.


...you can expend one paladin spell slot to deal radiant damage...
Emphasis mine.

As for things that are actually potentially helpful in answering the question:
2. Ambiguous. I'd probably rule that they don't stack; although, unlike fighting styles, they don't specifically say so, they do say "twice, instead of once" instead of "an additional time".
3. "Better" is purely a question of objective. Personally, I'm a fan of wild magic for a variety of reasons, but the specific benefits the Draconic path offers are more likely to help with martial combat. (In particular, they're always on, whereas wild magic only comes up for 5% of the character's cast sorc spells.)

[calebrus]

I'm not much of an optimizer, but I wanted to note that unless some fairly specific houserules are in play the first part of the stated purpose won't work.

Irrelevant. Spell slots are spell slots are spell slots.
The only distinction between slots is that between Warlock Pact Magic slots and regular slots, and the designers have even confirmed that Pact Magic slots can be used to power smites.
Basically, treat that as fluff text. He can smite with any slot he has, regardless of where it came from.

[MeeposFire]

Extra attack sources do not stack so valor bard will not help in that regard.

Also paladin 6 is very nice due to saving throw bonuses.

[Falcon X]

Agreed on all fronts.
- I think it's common understanding that extra attacks don't stack.
- It's also pretty common understanding that spell slots are spell slots.
- Paladin 6 does rock!

But please, to the primary question:
Is Paladin6/Spellcaster14 as martially effective as Paladin20?
If not or if so, in what way?

[calebrus]

But please, to the primary question:
Is Paladin6/Spellcaster14 as martially effective as Paladin20?
If not or if so, in what way?

No. Taking 14 levels of a full caster instead of 14 levels of Paladin leaves you lacking in the martial aspect in comparison. Obviously.
Things like HP, Oath features, Improved Divine Smite, etc, are all going to make a difference here.

And contrary to popular belief, he doesn't get a bunch more smites than a straight Pally. He gets the exact same smites as a pure Pally. He gets the slots faster, sure, but any slot of 5th and above are wasted on a smite because they stop scaling with 4th level slots. But you don't get any more slots of 1-4, you only get more 5+. So he can smite exactly as well as a pure Pally unless you want to blow higher level slots with zero additional benefit. He gets the slots to smite with faster. That's all he gets as far as smiting goes.

The only difference here is sorcery points and creating slots to smite with. That is the single point in favor of a Sorc multi as far as smiting goes. But then you're using your SP on creating slots instead of metamagic. In this case, I recommend creating 1st and 2nd level slots, as they are inexpensive and get you more bang for your buck on smiting (+1d8 per SP spent).

The Sorc levels will make him more versatile by far, but that versatility comes at a cost of some of his martial prowess.
Whether that's better or worse is for you to decide.

[Falcon X]

Thanks Calebrus. That's helpful.

I guess the questions I need to look at are how the buffs of a high level sorcerer will shore up the losses. I'll hit the books and get back to this.

[calebrus]

The idea is that he can get more spell slots to fuel his divine smites, while also allowing him to pull off some spell shenanigans when he feels like it. Still, the focus will be hitting things with a sword and being a tank.

I've actually been toying around with the idea of a Rogue tank(ish) character.
Arcane Trickster 13 / Paladin 2 / Bladelock 5
4/3/2 slots, plus two 3rd level slots on a short rest (so probably 6-8 more 3rd level slots per day on top of the 4/3/2). Plus Uncanny Dodge to help with the tanking. 1d8+d+7d6sneak+smite.
If you want to maximize your smiting, 5-7 levels of Warlock for short rest recharge Pact Magic slots is the way to go. :smallbiggrin:
Pally 2 / Bladelock 5-7 / Bard or Sorc 11-13 would be just about the best smiting force around.

[Grand Warchief]

I'm currently playing a Paladin of the ancients, (meaning my break point is 8 instead of 6, 7 for resistance to all spell damage and 8 for ASI) and I'm multiclassing into bard. mine is a lot like yours, heavily melee focused, with a couple random spells here and there for utility (refluffing all of them so they are less of casting a spell and more of physical representations of his will and determination but I digress).
I find that the first level Pally spell Bless is the only spell I will actually be casting for combat since we don't have a cleric. It's just too good for a combat buff to pass up. The bard levels are to get his spell slots faster. My dm said that I can use a higher level spell plot to smite, but it still only does a may of 5d8 (a nice house rule imo).
I plan on dipping rogue for the additional expertise and cunning action, and then fighter to finish with action surge, second wind, and additional fighting style.

Just some thoughts to throw around. As long as you have the stats for it, this edition has a lot of fun things to boost your utility via multiclassing. :) hope I offered some thought candy for you.

[Falcon X]

That's sweet Calebrus :)

Too bad Warlock is out of the question. Character background issue :(

Improved divine smite would be pretty rough to lose. The compensation for the sorcerer would be 14 sorcery points worth of smites. And I think my Paladin will strike more than 14 times per long rest...
Still, the flexibility is nice, and getting the spell slots earlier...
We are, after all, playing all through levels 1-20.

[Falcon X]

I'm currently playing a Paladin of the ancients, (meaning my break point is 8 instead of 6, 7 for resistance to all spell damage and 8 for ASI) and I'm multiclassing into bard. mine is a lot like yours, heavily melee focused, with a couple random spells here and there for utility (refluffing all of them so they are less of casting a spell and more of physical representations of his will and determination but I digress).
I find that the first level Pally spell Bless is the only spell I will actually be casting for combat since we don't have a cleric. It's just too good for a combat buff to pass up. The bard levels are to get his spell slots faster. My dm said that I can use a higher level spell plot to smite, but it still only does a may of 5d8 (a nice house rule imo).
I plan on dipping rogue for the additional expertise and cunning action, and then fighter to finish with action surge, second wind, and additional fighting style.

Just some thoughts to throw around. As long as you have the stats for it, this edition has a lot of fun things to boost your utility via multiclassing. :) hope I offered some thought candy for you.
Love getting feedback from experience. Thanks!
I'll note how common a buff bless is. I like your thoughts on flavor too.
I'll look into fighter dip too.

How op does it sound if I let the player break spell slots down to multiple smaller slots (ex, a level 7 spell could become 7 level 1 slots)?
That would definitely help with the loss of improved divine smite, and I don't think it would break the game.
Your thoughts?

[calebrus]

The compensation for the sorcerer would be 14 sorcery points worth of smites. And I think my Paladin will strike more than 14 times per long rest...
7 (or less), as a 1st level slot costs 2 SP.


How op does it sound if I let the player break spell slots down to multiple smaller slots (ex, a level 7 spell could become 7 level 1 slots)?
That would definitely help with the loss of improved divine smite, and I don't think it would break the game.
Your thoughts?

The character in question already has the ability to do what you're proposing, via the fact that he has 2 Sorc levels, but the math doesn't work the way that you proposed.
Font of Magic (sorc 2) lets you convert spell slots into SP, with each spell level granting 1 SP. It also lets you convert SP into spell slots, with a varying cost depending on the slot.
A 7th level slot would translate into two 1st and one 2nd level slots (or one 1st and one 3rd).

If you aren't particularly fond of that, then I'd simply use the spell point variant instead. It's cleaner, and there's nothing for you to "change" in the rules, as the rules already exist. If he uses it, then everyone should have the option.

edit:
The spell point variant is extremely powerful for a Paladin (as Strill says below). Use it with caution if there is a Pally in the party.

[Grand Warchief]

Love getting feedback from experience. Thanks!
I'll note how common a buff bless is. I like your thoughts on flavor too.
I'll look into fighter dip too.

How op does it sound if I let the player break spell slots down to multiple smaller slots (ex, a level 7 spell could become 7 level 1 slots)?
That would definitely help with the loss of improved divine smite, and I don't think it would break the game.
Your thoughts?

^_^ glad you like it. I feel as though I should mention that he's also grabbing the resilience con and mounted combat Feats. Resilience is necessary for maintaining buffs when getting hit and the mounted combat feat goes so well with the pally mount. Advantage on all unmounted medium or smaller opponents all the time while mounted? Yes plz!

[Strill]

How op does it sound if I let the player break spell slots down to multiple smaller slots (ex, a level 7 spell could become 7 level 1 slots)?
That would definitely help with the loss of improved divine smite, and I don't think it would break the game.
Your thoughts?There's already a system for that in the DM's guide. It's called Spell Points.

And yes, the Paladin does benefit quite a lot from Spell Points. If you can use that system, then multiclassing as a full spellcaster all of a sudden becomes a much more lucrative choice.

[Mandragola]

I think the break point for Paladins is level 11 and improved divine smite. I honestly think its that good. And honestly every level up to that point has seriously nice stuff or you, any of which would be hard to turn down.

Personally at that point I think the best option might be to MC as fighter and go dual-wield. I know that's not what you're looking for though!

Of the caster options I think bard is somewhat better, because you get more martial stuff. Actually I'd go lore rather than valour so as to get cutting words instead of the redundant proficiencies. But the trouble is, switching to caster at level 12/13 means you're going to pick up relatively low level spells for a long time. I think you might well be better off just staying a paladin.

[Giant2005]

I think the break point for Paladins is level 11 and improved divine smite. I honestly think its that good. And honestly every level up to that point has seriously nice stuff or you, any of which would be hard to turn down.

Personally at that point I think the best option might be to MC as fighter and go dual-wield. I know that's not what you're looking for though!

Of the caster options I think bard is somewhat better, because you get more martial stuff. Actually I'd go lore rather than valour so as to get cutting words instead of the redundant proficiencies. But the trouble is, switching to caster at level 12/13 means you're going to pick up relatively low level spells for a long time. I think you might well be better off just staying a paladin.

The thing is that Paladin brings some absolutely awesome stuff to the table right up to level 11 (much like you said) but after 12, they don't really get much of anything. There is no reason not to multiclass at 12 and pick up some more spell slots (and low level abilities) from Bard or Sorc. High level spells don't really mean much to a Paladin but spell slots mean everything.

[Grand Warchief]

I think the break point for Paladins is level 11 and improved divine smite. I honestly think its that good. And honestly every level up to that point has seriously nice stuff or you, any of which would be hard to turn down.

Personally at that point I think the best option might be to MC as fighter and go dual-wield. I know that's not what you're looking for though!

Of the caster options I think bard is somewhat better, because you get more martial stuff. Actually I'd go lore rather than valour so as to get cutting words instead of the redundant proficiencies. But the trouble is, switching to caster at level 12/13 means you're going to pick up relatively low level spells for a long time. I think you might well be better off just staying a paladin.

Level 9 gets you nothing but 3rd level pally spells.
Level 10 makes you immune to fear, which if you have a cleric it's not worth it since she should be giving you hero's feast since it now lasts 24 hours.
Level 11 adds 1d8 damage to every attack. Good, but other options from multiclassing are better imo
Level 12 is ASI

I personally think pally stops offering at level 6, unless your an ancients pally, at which point level 8

[JNAProductions]

Permenant, non-dispellable immunity to fear for free? As compared to the 10-minute casting time, 1000 gp, dispellable, temporary Heroes' Feast?

I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but unless your players always have advance warning of fear-using enemies and enough disposable income to drop on every one of those fights, a Paladin's immunity to fear is very useful.

[Giant2005]

Level 9 gets you nothing but 3rd level pally spells.
Level 10 makes you immune to fear, which if you have a cleric it's not worth it since she should be giving you hero's feast since it now lasts 24 hours.
Level 11 adds 1d8 damage to every attack. Good, but other options from multiclassing are better imo
Level 12 is ASI

I personally think pally stops offering at level 6, unless your an ancients pally, at which point level 8

What 4 levels of what class could offer more to a level 8 Paladin than all of the above?

[Grand Warchief]

Permenant, non-dispellable immunity to fear for free? As compared to the 10-minute casting time, 1000 gp, dispellable, temporary Heroes' Feast?

I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but unless your players always have advance warning of fear-using enemies and enough disposable income to drop on every one of those fights, a Paladin's immunity to fear is very useful.

At that level I would expect players to have lots of disposable income, unless they decided to build a castle. Remember, there's on magic item economy and unless your dm is implementating one or allowing players to make magic items, you should have lots of cash. As far as permanent, non-dispelable immunity to fear, all I have to say is...10' radius untilled level 18. Which since the OP wanted to multiclass it's never going to get larger.
Depending on your build, most classes always want to break at 4,8,12, and 16 for the ASI. If you plan on taking at least 6 levels of fighter, you can forgoer one of those ASI since fighter gives of an extra one. Pally/Bard is my personal favorite. But I can see how pally/sorcerer has it's allure. Those sorcery points would go amazing with the spell point variant.

[Grand Warchief]

What 4 levels of what class could offer more to a level 8 Paladin than all of the above?

Fighter

Action surge
Second wind
Champion for increased crit
Asi

Add 2 more levels for a second Asi

[Grand Warchief]

Also, if your dm isn't allowing the spell point variant, ask if you can use spell slots higher that 4 to do the same damage as 4. So a level 8 spell would still do 5d8 damage. at least that way you aren't wasting the high level slots

[JNAProductions]

DMG Starting Wealth at higher level tables.

1-4: No extra cash.
5-10: Average of 637.5 GP. Enough to cast Heroes' Feast 2 times with a party of 4.
11-16: Average of 6375 GP. Enough to cast Heroe's Feast 6 times alone, or 25 times together.
17-20: Average of 21375 GP. Enough to cast Heroe's Feast 21 times alone, or 85 times together.

So if you only ever spend money on Heroes' Feast? You'll be okay.

If you want to spend money bribing nobles, buying mounts, buying equipment, building a keep, bringing back your dead, or any other expensive activity (like a whole bunch of other spells in the book) then perhaps it might be worth having a fearless aura.

[Giant2005]

Fighter

Action surge
Second wind
Champion for increased crit
Asi

Add 2 more levels for a second Asi

How is that better? The Paladin's level 11 ability alone is better than the combination of all of that! Yet it also comes with fear immunity which is massive considering how prevalent fear effects are late game and that frightened is one of the most detrimental conditions in the game; and those level 3 spells are nothing short of amazing. Not only do those spells let the Paladin resurrect people but they also bring Crusader's Mantle to the table which is potentially the most damaging spell in the game. It also brings elemental Weapon which is potentially the highest damaging single target spell in the game.
Paladin 9-12 is far, far superior to Fighter 1-4.

If you want to spend money bribing nobles, buying mounts, buying equipment, building a keep, bringing back your dead, or any other expensive activity (like a whole bunch of other spells in the book) then perhaps it might be worth having a fearless aura.
If there truly were adventuring parties out there that were willing to spend 85k for a fearless aura substitute, the world would be dominated with Paladins as that is obviously the profession to be - rent yourself out to an adventuring group for 85 days and retire richer than most kingdoms.
The world would be a very strange place with all of these retired Paladins lounging around everywhere you look.

[Grand Warchief]

DMG Starting Wealth at higher level tables.

1-4: No extra cash.
5-10: Average of 637.5 GP. Enough to cast Heroes' Feast 2 times with a party of 4.
11-16: Average of 6375 GP. Enough to cast Heroe's Feast 6 times alone, or 25 times together.
17-20: Average of 21375 GP. Enough to cast Heroe's Feast 21 times alone, or 85 times together.

So if you only ever spend money on Heroes' Feast? You'll be okay.

If you want to spend money bribing nobles, buying mounts, buying equipment, building a keep, bringing back your dead, or any other expensive activity (like a whole bunch of other spells in the book) then perhaps it might be worth having a fearless aura.

What a beautiful table. How could I not have seen that. (sarcasm)

Yes. That is a table designed to help you make a character at that level, it is not a wealth by level table. if your playing a heavy roleplay campaign, you might be able to use it is such. However, and I will make an assumption here, most players are more into combat. Even the OP is asking for combat build advice. Now I've looked at the treasure tables and I've seen what they Offer. Your typical adventuring party will have far more gold than that.
True, if a dragon jumps you, the party will have to make the save and half will probably fail. But if that pally got his no fear aura....well them he'll be fine and maybe the fighter who he was sharing a drink with will be ok, but the wizard reading his book halfway across camp and the rogue taking a leak are boned anyway. The cleric probably just makes the save.

[Grand Warchief]

Besides, you're not casting hero's feast every day, only when you know you're going into a combat, which at high levels, you better know ahead of time. At that point, if your party gets jumped, you're dead. All except the casters anyway. There's a reason they're tier 1

[Grand Warchief]

But we're getting off topic. The OP wanted advice on what to multiclass into the gain more spells and maintain his martial prowess. My personal opinion, take a few levels in bard and call it a day. If you want to continue pally after, it's certainly a good plan. It really depends on your dm though. If he's allowing you to use the higher level slots for smiting, then it's worth it. If he's allowing spell points, it's worth it. Otherwise just stay pally or go another martial class. After all, you can't use a spell plot higher that 4 for smiting by RAW.

[Giant2005]

you can't use a spell plot higher that 4 for smiting by RAW.
You can with Searing Smite and more importantly, a Paladin/full caster is capable of casting a level 7+ Elemental Weapon which is something a pure Paladin could never do.

[JNAProductions]

Link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?402566-How-Valuable-Is-Heroes-Feast&p=18926997#post18926997) to the off-topic Heroes' Feast debate. Shouldn't be cluttering up this thread with it, but I feel it's worth continuing discussion.

Falcon, how strict is your DM? While it might be RAW unable to smite with higher level spell slots, it doesn't seem much of a stretch to let you smite at 4th level slot damage for consuming a higher level slot.

[Grand Warchief]

Link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?402566-How-Valuable-Is-Heroes-Feast&p=18926997#post18926997) to the off-topic Heroes' Feast debate. Shouldn't be cluttering up this thread with it, but I feel it's worth continuing discussion.

Falcon, how strict is your DM? While it might be RAW unable to smite with higher level spell slots, it doesn't seem much of a stretch to let you smite at 4th level slot damage for consuming a higher level slot.

That's what my dm was going until I showed him the spell point variant. He and I were both avid Diablo/WOW players back in the day so we like the idea of Mana. It's a lot better for a multiclassed pally with higher spell slots to burn.

[Chronos]

Branding Smite also scales with level, and is probably slightly better than Searing (less-resisted damage type, and makes invisible enemies visible, as opposed to a few extra rounds of slow burn).

[Mandragola]

So fear immunity is good, clearly. The fact that it's always on, cannot be dispelled and doesn't require money or anyone's spell slot is also kind of handy, in my opinion.

I do actually think it makes sense for a paladin to MC as a fighter. Just not before level 11 - or more likely the ASI at 12 (which probably delivers +1 on all saves to the whole party... which is nice). Even then I think carrying on as a paladin is a reasonable option, to pick up the higher-level spell slots, though action surge is clearly amazing and may well be better. Taking a level or two in sorceror to get shield seems like a good option too, or you could go with the somewhat weird option of eldritch knight.

[daplayzmc07]

Agreed on all fronts.
- I think it's common understanding that extra attacks don't stack.
- It's also pretty common understanding that spell slots are spell slots.
- Paladin 6 does rock!

But please, to the primary question:
Is Paladin6/Spellcaster14 as martially effective as Paladin20?
If not or if so, in what way?

Being a level 14 Sorcerer + 6 Paladin makes you a 17th level character for the purposes of determining spell slots, allowing you to upcast spells from 6th to 9th level, whereas a paladin would be limited to 5th level spells as they're a half caster. However, rules as written, you cannot learn the higher level paladin spells of 3rd-5th level as you're not high enough level as a paladin to learn them, so those super blasty spells like banishing smite, circle of power, raise dead, staggering smite, banishment, or even something a little more utilitarian like revivify is unavailable to you to select, unless you have another spellcaster class that can learn those spells. Which, for all the smite spells, is pretty much impossible for other classes to learn. If you go with a bard for a full caster however, you can utilize magical secrets to get those other powerful smites, so, go ****ing ham. If your DM allows it though, you could use say sorcerer spells known to learn paladin spells of higher levels, which makes for a much easier time getting those higher level paladin spells. But, this isn't something you can do rules as written.

For a more spellcaster paladin than a tanky melee paladin, this isn't an issue, as you're able to use that second classes spell list and upcast lower spells like a fireball which is still a great option, but if you're wanting a melee paladin, I'd go either Paladin 11, Sorcerer 9, or Paladin 10 Sorcerer 10. Paladin 11 gets you extra damage on your divine smite, but sorcerer 10 gets you an additional metamagic option.

Paladin 20 is still a great option, as paladin's later level subclass features are unlocked then at 15 and 20, and cleansing touch at 14 lets you remove a spell affecting you or others, but overall, I'd still say multiclassing gets you a bit of a stronger build than going solo paladin. It's like the difference between a +2 longsword and +3 longsword. Yeah a +2 is great, but a +3 is even greater.

[stoutstien]

Unpopular opinion: It's practically guaranteed and for on demand damage that stacks on weapon attacks its solid.
Saying that spell slot value of DS is pretty small in the grand scheme of things. You are about as likely to dump half it's value into overkill as you are to do anything else so it's a good tool but not something to focus all that much on.
DS gets a lot of press but as far as the pally goes it's the racing stripes painted on the side not the suped up engine that actually makes it a sports car.

[sithlordnergal]

Agreed on all fronts.
- I think it's common understanding that extra attacks don't stack.
- It's also pretty common understanding that spell slots are spell slots.
- Paladin 6 does rock!

But please, to the primary question:
Is Paladin6/Spellcaster14 as martially effective as Paladin20?
If not or if so, in what way?

I currently have two level 20 Sorcadins, one is Ancients Paladin 8 / Wild Magic Sorcerer 12, the other is Paladin 6 / Druid 14. I also have a level 20 Paladin. I've found the multiclass builds are just as, if not more effective, in combat than pure paladins. The few things you lose out on are made up for in spades with everything else.

You're losing out on Improved Divine Smite, which is +1d8 Radiant damage to all attacks, Aura of Courage, which is immunity to Frightened, the ability to end a spell on yourself or another willing creature, and two of your Sacred Oath Features. You mentioned that you're a Paladin of Vengeance, which means you lose out on Soul of Vengeance and Angel of Vengeance. Soul of Vengeance lets you make an attack as a reaction, Angel of Vengeance causes the Frightened Condition. It should be noted a lot of creatures have immunity to being Frightened by the time you're level 20.


That said, you gain a TON of spell slots, which greatly increases your ability to Smite, you gain spells, which I'll be going over soon, and you'll gain class and subclass abilities, which can range from fun to useless to very handy. Now, this is a smaller list then what you lose, but you have to understand. The spells and spell slots are a big enough boon to let you surpass a regular paladin's martial ability.

Spells alone fix nearly all of the Paladin's biggest weaknesses. Spells like Chromatic Orb and Firebolt give you a reliable ranged attack, while Fireball lets you deal with hoards that Paladins usually struggle with. Fly and Haste are excellent self buffs that either let you reach flying enemies, or let you hit harder, and Shield gives you a massive +5 AC bump that lets you survive longer in combat. Meanwhile you'll have a lot more spell slots to use for spells or Divine Smite, which means you can fight longer without needing a Long Rest.

As for class and subclass abilities, it heavily depends on which classes you choose. For example, if you go Divine Soul, you now have access to the Cleric spell list. So you can change out Chromatic Orb for Guiding Bolt, take Spiritual Weapon for a solid Bonus Action Attack, and Spirit Guardians to deal damage to anyone you get close to. And that's just a single Subclass. Metamagic is also handy, especially Quickened Spell and Transmute Spell. The first lets you cast a spell as a Bonus Action, which means you could Guiding Bolt then use Extra Attack, or you could do Extra Attack and a Bonus Action Booming Blade. The second lets you bypass most resistances and immunities by letting you turn that Fireball into a Thunderball.

And really, that's just looking at a small subset of spells. You gain more than just combat abilities from multiclassing. You can gain a lot of utility too, utility that most Paladins lack.


One thing I would suggest: Go Paladin 6 / Bard 13 / Sorcerer 1, and go Whisper Bard. It basically gives you a pseudo-Sneak Attack/Smite that deals extra Psychic damage. At Bard 13 you can add a solid 5d6 to an attack. So you can really nova hard.

[truemane]

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