Mid-campagin paladin multiclass into bard

[Dualight]

In the campaign I am currently playing in the party has ended up a band of musicians first, and adventurers second, so I am thinking really hard about how to make a bard dip work on the character I currently have.
My character is a reborn oathbreaker paladin, and the Memories of a Past Life feature the reborn get has resulted in my character being good at things without being clear on how they learnt those things.
Due to this, I want to go for at least bard 2, to pick up Jack of All Trades, but I am uncertain when to switch over or how far to go into bard, as well as if I should do it at all.
The things that make me reluctant to multiclass are the fact that I am the only tank in the party, as the rest is either ranged, or much more squishy than I am,
the fact that the mount I got from find steed keeps dying in the rare combats we do get, so I do not want to put off find greater steed if I can help it,
and that the campaign is slated to go to 17th level at the highest, so the opportunity cost for multiclassing feels higher than it usually does.

Stats are 8 STR, 18 DEX, 14 CON, 10 INT, 10 WIS, 16 CHA at 7th level. (I built this character back when I did not think that I could RP an 8 INT character well, so it is not as optimised as it can be.)
The DM has given me permission to consider multiclassing in spite of the too-low STR, since the narrative fits well enough to not close off the option.

No matter what, I will have to take this character to Paladin 9, since we need easy access to remove curse ASAP for narrative reasons, and my character is the only one aside from the (main) bard to have access to the spell at all, and the bard has no in-character reason to pick up the spell.
We are playing a very RP heavy campaign where combat is rare (once every other session at the most), so I am not worried about losing damage output, but defences and survivability are not something I like compromising on.

With that established, my actual question is as follows:

Should I go for the multiclass at all? If yes, how far should I take it, and when is the best time to begin, keeping in mind that the minimum level for paladin is 9, and that character level is capped at 17?
Additionally, if I go for the multiclass, how should I go about doing it? What subclass fits an undead amnesiac musician/paladin best, both in thematics and mechanics?

Futher notes on the character's capabilities/ options:
I have the opportunity to switch subclasses through RP, so that is on the table.
The DM gave the party a bonus feat when we hit 7th, so I have Mounted Combatant + a saddle of the cavalier to stretch my mounts anaemic 16 AC/ 19 HP
The party consists of a Sharpshooter/Crossbow Expert bloodhunter, a melee hexblade, and a support bard, none of whom are particularly suited/interested in taking a punch for the team if they can help it.)

The focus of the campaign drifted, so I am scrambling to adjust my character, who was built for a more combat-heavy campaign.

Thanks in advance.

[nickl_2000]

Do you have expectations on how high the campaign will go? That has a significant difference on how many levels of bard or if it will be worthwhile at all.


Also, is you DM handwaving the requirement to multi-class? With your strength only being 8 by RAW you can't multi-class out of Paladin. Nevermind, you said in your post that your DM is allowing it.

[Bobthewizard]

I'd see if I could swap out my level 7 and just go Paladin 6/ Bard X. That Aura of Hate is terrible for a PC. All fiends and undead you encounter will get +3-5 damage when they hit you. If you have to stay until 9, then do that and then switch over to bard for the rest.

Essentially, when you multiclass paladin and bard, I think the more bard the better. My favorite is paladin 2/ swords bard X. But paladin 6 for the extra attack and aura of protection works too. Then you can take any bard subclass.

If want to stay in paladin longer and you can switch subclasses, I'd consider devotion for a more RP heavy campaign. Immunity to charm could be important. Then at Paladin 10 you could get immunity to fear. Then 11, gets you improved divine smite, then an ASI at 12. Once you go to Paladin 9, it is hard find the right time to jump out.

[diplomancer]

Under the given parameters, I'd go with Paladin at least until level 13, Find Greater steed is that good. Whether I'd then continue Paladin or switch to Bard would depend a lot on the DM's interpretation of the 15th level ability of the Oathbreaker.

Being only a DMG option, it's quite possible that it should have been errata'ed to "bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from non-magical attacks", like most old such entries have been. If yes, then it's very good, and not to be missed. If not, (i.e, if a dragon's claws do full damage, for instance), it's almost useless, in which case you could multiclass after 13.

[Asmotherion]

If the rp takes you somewere, I say embrace it.

[Nidgit]

Paladin/Bard is great, but most builds tend to put at most 6 levels in Paladin and the rest in Bard- the Paladin is mostly there for sturdiness, extra attack, and Smites.

It's obviously dependent on your RP but I could see Oath of the Ancients dovetailing nicely with your wandering band aesthetic, without the need to multiclass into Bard.

As far as possible Bard dips go, 2 levels isn't really the ideal breakpoint. Bards tend to have very good subclass features that are worth picking up. Lore is always good and Spirits could be really thematic. Swords is great for combat but you wouldn't want to go more than 5 levels in it. Eloquence, Creation, Whispers and Glamour all have neat abilities with good out-of-combat utility but are more flavor-dependant. And Valor is decent too. I don't think you can go wrong.

[Guy Lombard-O]

I think in a RP heavy campaign, you should switch your paladin subclass to Redemption and go with Lore, Glamour or Eloquence bard (but NOT the same subclass as your "support bard"). The out of combat use of channel divinity to support Cha ability checks will be nice for that type of game.

If you don't like that idea, I see some nice thematic interplay between Oathbreaker or Conquest and the Whispers bard.

Either way, if you're going to multiclass, do it after paladin 9. I'd honestly suggest doing it earlier, but you've said that 9 is a must. I think that once you jump ship, you should just keep on with bard, as their spells, skills and abilities fit a RP heavy campaign so much better.

Good luck!

[Dualight]

First off, thank you to all who answered. You really helped to clear things up for me, as I had been getting overwhelmed by the options.

Secondly, how does one go about fixing a typo in a thread title? I noticed the error too late and its now irks me.

Finally, a small update: It looks like my party is getting a new player, who is considering playing cleric. We play on Wednesdays, so I might have a clearer idea of if I even need to go to paladin 9. If we get someone who can use remove curse easily, like a cleric, at the current level, I'd be comfortable with taking a few levels in bard right away. Delaying the ASI will be annoying, but if it really gets in the way, I can pause the bard progress to take levels in paladin again if need be.

If there is one thing this thread has convinced me of, though, it is that I should go further into bard, especially since the pace of levelling up in the campaign has been slowing down drastically, so paladin 13 is months away, at the earliest, which means low level features are much more likely to contribute significantly in the campaign than the high level ones further down the road, a perspective I had lost sight of in my ruminations. I am still trying to learn to consider the path it takes, rather than only the end point (not getting to play more than once every other month for the first few years of playing D&D seems to have done that to me).

So again, thanks to all who responded (and to those who will chime in later, too).
I'll probably amend this post, or add a new one, once I know what the new player will go for, and thus once I know what my initial breakpoint will be.

[Khrysaes]

If you multiclass to bard I would suggest Lore or Spirit subclass,
specifically because lore can be themed around your amnesiatic character learning more about the world, and Spirits because of the undead/reborn theming.

This is especially true if you can get the summon fiend/undead spells that will work with your aura.

Summon undead is a 3rd level spell, so a lore bard at 6 can get it.
Summon lesser demon is also 3rd
Summon Greater demon is 4th, so it has to be taken at bard 10
Summon Fiend is 6th so only a higher level bard can get it.
Animate Dead is also 3rd level spell.

I would take Lore bard 10. You still get greater find steed, and can get animate dead, summon undead, and summon greater demons. Whichever you want.

[da newt]

With mounted combatant you ought to be able to keep your mount alive pretty effectively. The second and third bullets along with your aura should make it pretty sturdy.

- You can force an attack targeted at your mount to target you instead.
- If your mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.

Then add in all attacks against your mount are at DISADV from the magic saddle (the ones you don't decide to take on yourself).

Using Dash / Disengage liberally and the horse's superior speed ...

Also don't forget any buff spell you cast on yourself also affects your mount (healing, haste, temp hp, AC boosts, etc).

[Dualight]

Okay, last night the new player joined the party, so I have been able to decide on my progression now.
The new character is a Bladesinger 6/Twillight cleric 1, so paladin 9 is no longer vital. As such, I'll be jumping into bard ASAP.
Thank you all for the ideas, it helped a lot with making this decision.