Paladin/Rogue advice

[Jbmean]

Hey, All. I'm attempting a paladin/rogue from level 1. Is it viable to tank encounters in an evasion kinda way with this multi class? This character is most likely the first line of defense for the party. Apologies if this has been addressed in a different post. Thanks.

[bid]

You need Str13 to MC, otherwise it should work fine.

[Reosoul]

Kind of? A rogue/paladin can probably take some punishment, but it isn't great, no. If you're using your reaction to 'dodge', it's one not used to threaten an opportunity attack.

Depends on the DM and if he's aggressive enough to capitalize on weaknesses or is cool with making your character shine in their own weird way, but most rogue/anything except barbarian can't take extended punishment from a lot of foes. Rogue doesn't want to be attacked. But you can still make it work 'okay'.

[djreynolds]

Hey, All. I'm attempting a paladin/rogue from level 1. Is it viable to tank encounters in an evasion kinda way with this multi class? This character is most likely the first line of defense for the party. Apologies if this has been addressed in a different post. Thanks.

Yes, start off as paladin say 15/13/12/8/10/14 (paladunce) and leave dex at 13. Use plate armor and shield, grab expertise in athletics and shield master and pummel people.

I like Oath of Devotion, sacred weapon, add charisma to your weapon attacks, 1 minute every short rest.

You have wisdom saves, and aura of protection. Use a rapier with strength, works just fine for sneak attack as the only rule is a finesse or ranged weapon.

Grab swashbuckler, and call out BBEGs. Or grab arcane trickster and snag the shield spell with one of your freebie spells. Plate and shield and defensive style, 21AC and have shield of faith up for AC23 and use the shield spell when needed, when your slots run out or you want to save them for smiting or healing, you have uncanny dodge.

I like 12 paladin/ 8 arcane trickster and believe it or not, it will come together quickly. Have someone else stealth and take expertise in athletics, perception, persuasion, and intimidation

[Citan]

Hey, All. I'm attempting a paladin/rogue from level 1. Is it viable to tank encounters in an evasion kinda way with this multi class? This character is most likely the first line of defense for the party. Apologies if this has been addressed in a different post. Thanks.
It could work very (very) well.
Confer my post on a similar thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21334112&postcount=18) (although with a non-standard stat distribution)

A Vengeance or Devotion Paladin (depending on fluff) / Assassin or Swashbuckler Rogue (depending on primary tactic) could work extremely well.

I'd go for Devotion Paladin / Swashbuckler Rogue.
Standard array, Half-Elf.
STR 13(+1) DEX 15(+1) CON 12 INT 8 WIS 10 CHA 14(+2).
Low Constitution is a bit of a pain but for a hit and run type on paladin chassis it should be okay (alternative: swap STR and CON because you plan on taking Resilient: Constitution later).

Because you are Rogue, you can have Expertise in Sneak and Perception (and later Athletics).
Because you are Dex based, you can go either light or medium armor and wield a shield to still get pretty decent AC (again, enough for your concept).
Because you are Devotion (Paladin), you can enhance your to-hit with +3. And because you are an expert Scout (Rogue), you can actually count on being able to cast it before actually beginning the fight.

Thanks to Dex (base) and Cha (swashbuckler), you also get great Initiative bonus. Thanks to Paladin spells, you can make a decent nova.

I'd start Paladin until you get Oath at least, then either go Aura of Protection (standard choice) or directly start Rogue (if you like to make drop attacks as early as possible).
You should arrive at a mid-step to something like Paladin 6 / Rogue 3 then continue as you wish.

End build could be Paladin 11 / Rogue 9 (Panache complements greatly your whole Paladin chassis) or Paladin 12 / Rogue 8 (because you want more ASI to bump stats and get Alert, Sentinel or Mage Slayer).

Or, if you want to optimize for damage, obviously go Vengeance with following stats STR 13 DEX 15(+1) CON 14(+1) INT 8 WIS 10 CHA 12(+2), because you will take Resilient: Constitution later.
Main drawback is that your bonus to hit affects only one enemy, and requires you to be in melee already. But you get Hunter's Mark early, Haste later, which further enforce your concept. ;)

[Specter]

In terms of taking damage, you're only 1hp short per rogue level. If take 3-4 levels, it won't matter too much.

If you really want to tank, take the Swashbuckler archetype and the Sentinel feat so dudes will think twice before moving away.