Multiclass Help: Monk/Paladin, Fighter/Paladin, or Fighter/Monk/Paladin

[Archerlord]

It's been a while since I've posted but I need help with something and I figured this may be the best place to go.

I am currently a player in a homebrewed game expected to go from level 1-20. The group is currently at level 5, and I play a human Battlemaster Fighter 4/Monk 1. Recent narrative events have happened in the campaign that has led me to come to a decision that I would like to multiclass into a paladin. I've talked to the DM about this as I was cautious about a three multiclass build, and he said I could swap out my fighter or monk levels in exchange for paladin levels if I wanted to.

Just some important things to note regarding my character that could impact the decision.

- Stats were rolled, and my stats from Strength to Charisma are 10/20/11/12/16/13. The DM has agreed that I could substitute my Dexterity for the Strength requirement on paladin's multiclassing.
- As a variant human, I have taken the Dual Wielder feat and did plan on taking Inspiring Leader at some point later in the campaign.
- From fighter, I have the two weapon fighting style to use two whips for the reach, and the Battlemaster maneuvers are Disarm Attack, Trip Attack, and Coordinated Strike.
- The plan was to eventually put more levels into monk so I could become a Kensei monk for kensei weapons counting as a magical for overcoming resistances. I currently rely on the monk's AC and think that the extra movement would help with some skirmishing.
- My character is a follower of Lathender, and for the most part, I've been eyeing the more good-aligned oaths as options for what to go with for multiclass.
- The other party members include a blood hunter, a bard, a sorcerer, a fighter focused on ranged combat, and a rogue. Can't remember their subclasses and the sorcerer is going to take an extended break once summer is over and school is back

I'm not too concerned with story concerns over multiclass, just the gameplay elements to it. The DM is fair but does tend to throw us at tough challenges (last session ended with half the party down but we won with a last minute push) so I want to stay useful if possible. With the choices I have, I was wondering what would be best to go with. If more information is needed, I would be happy to answer to any questions. Thank you very much.

[Kuulvheysoon]

If you don't mind me asking, why Paladin?

If you could settle for something like cleric instead of Paladin, you'd lose out on the smites, but you'd eliminate your reliance on charisma completely while still keeping the "Blessed by Lathander" ideal, especially if you went for something like Light Domain.

[ProsecutorGodot]

I think you would be most useful not multiclassing. You absolutely want a 5th Fighter level as soon as possible, you're missing Extra Attack. Not entirely sure why you even have the Monk level if you're using Dual Wielder because it renders martial arts pointless and the unarmored AC is only 1 higher than Studded Leather would be. 6 levels is a deep investment just for magical weapons

First I'd get that 5th level fighter. It cannot be overstated how important it is for a Martial character to have Extra Attack. Second, I'd drop the Monk Level for Cleric, as proposed above. It gives you the divine motivation on top of a lot more to offer at level 1 than Paladin does... and I don't recommend even taking any more Cleric levels after that. Though I'm also not sure which Cleric subclass would fit best as many of the better choices offer a redundant heavy armor proficiency, Twilight is probably still a top contender, and if you do take Twilight I'd even recommend 2 levels.

The alternative is that you swap to Paladin 5/Fighter 1. Take Defense from Paladin and Two Weapon Fighting from Fighter. You now match your current Monk AC in Studded Leather, have extra attack and a Paladin subclass, if you pick Devotion you'd even be able to make one of your whips magical for 1 minute (and have access to the Magic Weapon spell if you need it). The downsides are that you would lose your maneuvers and Action Surge, though Action Surge is worth picking up later. I think I prefer this option, but it's a bit of a drastic alteration.

If you take any of this advice though, at least get rid of the Monk level. Monks are incredibly dependent on their ability scores and yours aren't the best, your Con score specifically is holding you back a lot.