Help with Paladin/Hexblade levels

[LordNibbler]

I'm putting together a level 12 character and would like to build a Vengeance Paladin/Hexblade with heavy armor and a great sword.
I plan to start with Paladin 6/Hexblade 6 (Pact of the Blade).
Race is Half Elf (Drow, for role-playing reasons).
At level 12, he would have Str 15, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 18 with the Resilient (Con) and Elven Accuracy feats.

My big debate is where to go from there. Below are my considerations. Of note, it is not uncommon that we only have one or no short rests. I know, it makes Warlock much weaker but having a SAD paladin with good ranged options and the ability to summon a weapon out of nowhere is too cool for me to pass up. PHB, SCAG, and XGtE allowed.

Paladin 6/Hexblade 14: gets higher level spells overall, Armor of Hexes, Lifedrinker, and Master of Hexes (but not until level 20)

Paladin 11/Hexblade 9: Gets Aura of Courage and Improved Divine Smite but misses out on Lifedrinker, Mystic Arcanum and Armor of Hexes (though that seems to be much better if you also have Master of Hexes which this wouldn't)

Paladin 12/Hexblade 8: Maximizes ASIs and gets Paladin 11 features but loses out on 5th level warlock spells.

Another alternative would be a Paladin of Conquest in which case Paladin 7/Hexblade 13 would be in play.

Please share your thoughts on these options (or others I may have missed) and experiences you've had with similar builds. Thank you.

- Lord Nibbler

[kardar233]

As a level 12 character you luckily get to skip the unfortunate early levels of this multiclass and go straight to the good stuff. Improved Divine Smite is really nice for damage but you can’t commit to that at this stage in your build, as you need Warlock 3 to apply Hex Warrior to your Greatsword.

Because of the short rest restrictions of your gaming group, I would recommend not focusing on Warlock casting as your primary combat tool, and instead using it as a supplement. Unintuitively, this path would have you go Paladin 5/Warlock 7 so you can get Shadow of Moil. This spell has all the benefits and none of the party-angering issues of the Darkness/Devil’s Sight combination, and two casts per short rest should be enough for you. Definitely take Shield from the Hexblade list, as you can cast it with your much more plentiful Paladin spell slots.

Seeing as you’re pretty likely to have Advantage on just about every attack you make between Oath of Vengeance and Shadow of Moil, I would strongly suggest getting Great Weapon Master with one of your ASIs. As for the other, I’d probably recommend War Caster, though if you’re willing to lose Concentration a lot until you hit the next level (and get Paladin Aura) you could get Elven Accuracy.

If you’re confident that Darkness/Devil’s Sight will cause no problems with the rest of your party, go Warlock3/Paladin9 instead. If you’re willing to forgo the lovely advantage/disadvantage combo, go Pal7/Lock5 using spells like Hypnotic Pattern (or just stick to Hex).