Help with Paladin Rogue Multiclass

[Yakmala]

I've played single class Paladins before, but I'm looking to multiclass on my next Paladin, and not a typical Sorcadin. I'm looking to combine a Paladin and Rogue.

In this particular campaign, we are retiring our level 16 characters for story reasons, but continuing the adventure with new characters at level 17. This DM loves tossing the kitchen sink at us with save or suck rolls with DC's in the 20's and big deadly AoE's like Meteor Storm and Prismatic Spheres, so I want to make someone well suited to survive it.

It occurred to me the combination of Paladin auras, uncanny dodge and evasion would be great for survival. Plus, the chance to combine Sneak Attack and Smite.

Obviously, there are drawbacks. The character needs a minimum of 13 in Strength, Dexterity and Charisma. They're also going to get less smite slots than a single class Paladin or a Sorcadin.

So, lots of design questions come to mind, such as how to split up the levels and which subclasses to go for.

For levels, I'm looking for at least 6 in Paladin (7 if it's a subclass with a good L7 aura) and at least 7 levels in Rogue for for Evasion. Of course, you could then make the argument to go to 8 in either or both of those classes to get the extra ASI/Feat. I'm also thinking at least a 1 level dip in Hexblade to made the character SAD, since I'm needing to spread out my initial points so much.

As for subclasses, there's a number of ways to go. Arcane Trickster would get the character more spell slots for smiting. Perhaps Vengence/Arcane Trickster in this case. Another idea would be to combine Oath of the Watchers with Swashbuckler, perhaps with a Harengon, to get a completely ridiculous bonus to Initiative.

All that being said, I'm open to suggestions. How would you go about putting together a Paladin Rogue?

[Greywander]

Hmm... How about Glory Paladin 7 and Scout Rogue 10 with Mobile? Get all the speed. With Skirmisher, you'll literally be able to move 30 feet away when someone ends their turn next to you. Only problem is this naturally suggests a ranged build, but you can't smite on ranged attacks. But with Mobile you don't actually need to use a ranged weapon, you can just hit an enemy and retreat. Or, you could use a whip, since you're proficient as a paladin, and never have to even get within the enemy's reach. Also, there are actually a couple smite spells that do work with ranged attacks.

You're like a monk but without any monk levels. 60 foot base speed, and a BA Dash. Wrathful Smite is almost an analogue of Stunning Strike (not the same, obviously). For added ridiculousness, go aarakocra for more speed, and flight to boot.

Another idea: go Ancients 7 and Inquisitive Rogue 10, flavor it as some kind of witch hunter. Get the Mage Slayer feat. Casters are typically the ones throwing out saving throw effects, and you mentioned there would be a lot of those. You can replace Inquisitive with something else, I just thought it would fit the flavor of a witch hunter better.

[Rolero]

Swashbuckler definetly combs with Paladin and is even thematic (you are a musketeer!) To archieve this you will need some hefty requirements though. You will need 13 in Str, Dex and Wis, plus decent Con and Cha. Ergo, you are MAD as hell. If you are using the standar point array it may be a little hard to be as tough as you want to be, but it is possible.

The good old Hexblade dip. With 1 level you only need to fullfil class requirements and max Cha to be efficient.
So, one possible set of stats could be: 13 Str 13 Dex 13 Con 8 Int 13 Wis 14 Cha
With this combination a Half-Elf will net you 14 Con and Dex plus 16 Cha as starting stats. Not bad. Any other race that boost Cha could work as well, but half-ears are almost tailor-made for this.

Level distribution will depend on which goodies you really really want. From Rogue, Evasion will requiere at least 7 levels, Paladin aura another 6, that leaves 4 floating levels to accommodate. If you go the Hexblade route that eats another level. The remaining three could go back to Pal to grab the 7th level feature and an extra ASI at 8th, and the final one to Rogue to get another ASI.

With a total of 4 ASI, you could get Elven Accuracy, Fey Touched, Warcaster and a +2 to Cha, maxing your main stat and getting neat stuff in the process. This way, you can go in half-plate armor plus shield, grab the defense style, reaching 20 AC. You can sacrifice 1 point using a breastplate instead to not lose in the stealth department.

For Paladin paths, I think Watchers is king here. If your DM is tossing deadly encounters like candy, winning initiative is capital to consistent success. Also, the channel divinity grants a nice bonus to mental saves, which is always welcomed.

This combination would look as follows by 17th level:

Race: Half-Elf
13 Str 14 Con Dex 14 Int 8 Wis 13 Cha 20
HP: 130 (using the average of 9d8 + 8d10 + 34 from CON)
AC 19 (Breastplate + Shield + Dex + Style)
Saving throws: +6 Str +13 Dex +7 Con +10 Int +6 Wis +10 Cha
Skills: 4 Rogue +2 Background +2 Half-Elf (plus 4 expertises*) My suggestion: Perception* +13, Insight* +13, Acrobatics +8, Athletics +7, Persuasion +11, Deception +11, Intimidation +11, Stealth* +14 / Thief Tools* +14

Notable Features: Divine Sense, Lay on Hands (40 points total), Defense Fighting Style, Divine Health, Extra Attack, Aura of Protection, Channel Divinity (Watcher's Will, Abjure the Extraplanar), Aura of the Sentinel
Sneak Attack (4d6), Thieves' Cant, Cunning Action, Uncanny Dodge, Evasion, Fancy Footwork, Rakish Audacity
Pact Magic, Hexblade's Curse, Hex Warrior

ASI: Elven Accuracy (+1 Cha), Fey Touched (+1 Cha, Silvery Barbs), Warcaster, +2 Cha

Spells:
Cantrips: Booming Blade, Eldritch Blast
1st Level: Shield, Wrathful Smite, Hellish Rebuke, Hex, Alarm, Detect Magic, Bless, Shield of Faith, Command, Cure Wounds, Compelled Duel, Silvery Barbs
2nd Level: Moonbeam, See Invisibility, Find Steed, Aid, Lesser Restoration, Zone of Truth, Misty Step

A quick resumé:
You have +13 to Initiative, +11 to Attack, decent AC and HP, great saves, and are skillful enough to be both a party face and a scout. You are tough and slippery in the front lines or exploiting Fancy Footwork to do hit and run tactics. Between Hex, Hexblade curse, free sneak attack thanks to Rakish Audacity and Smites, you can do LOTS of damage consistently.
Your auras, channel divinity and spells like Silvery Barbs, Bless and Compelled Duel support the party well with some extra utility in your selection.

Normally, this kind of character would be difficult to pull off in you were playing him/her during their whole career. But since you start at 17th with all the perks unlocked, go nuts with this.

If you can pick up some starting magic items I will go for a finesse magic weapon (Holy Avenger, Sun Blade, Scimitar of Speed), Winged boots or cape of flying, magic armor and/or shield (spellguard shield), Book of +2 Cha, Ring of Free action.

[JLandan]

Consider Vengeance 8, Phantom 9. Sort of a vengeance for lost souls kind of guy. They speak to him and he roots out those that sent them to the nether regions.

Vow of Enmity gets 1 min. of advantage on attack = Sneak Attack every round. +5d6 without any smites. You could do some cool stuff with soul trinkets too.

[BaronCorvo]

It's a pretty common house rule to allow Paladins to multiclass with a 13 Dex instead of Str (like Fighters can), so ask your DM if they'd be willing to let you do that.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

I didn't go quite that high level with mine, but even 1 level of rogue gets Expertise for say Athletics and Stealth. Shield Master is somewhat table dependent, but if you get a favorable ruling then just shove 'em on the ground and start smiting. That way you max your caster level. Also your Strength minimum isn't wasted.

Though with that many total levels I'd be temped to go Assassin 3/ Paladin X to get the auto-crits then your first round will hit really hard with Crit/ Sneak Attack/ Smite. You will still have lots of Paladin levels left for all those goodies, including starting with a flying steed if you want one. Oh, and Piercer Feat is pretty darn good on top of this if you can manage it, though those are tough to spare on Paladins.

[Lavaeolus]

Since we're starting at level 17, mercifully it means we don't have to worry as much about delaying essential features. With that in mind: starting as a Rogue will get you Dex/Int saves and an extra skill, while Paladin will get you Wis/Cha saves and heavy armor proficiency.

Hexblade's CHA-attack is good here, as it is on any Paladin, but I think it's also workable without it. Between Paladin save bonuses and Rogue's Expertise, you can work around dumping INT and WIS a bit. With a race like Half-Elf, then, it's still possible to start with a decent stat spread. For example, using Point Buy: Str 13, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 9, Cha 16.

I like Assassin on paper, but worry surprise will be harder to get in practice. Swashbuckler's synergy with Charisma is nice. As far as spell slots go Arcane Trickster 7 is worth two spellcaster levels, which isn't much, but I suppose you might want to consider which if any of its spells you'll use. I haven't thought too hard about this, but some I could immediately imagine being useful include Find Familiar, Disguise Self, Invisibility and Misty Step.

[JellyPooga]

Nix those thoughts on a Hexblade dip; you don't need it. Just focus on Str, Con and Cha like any Paladin and you'll be just fine. Dex 14 is both easy to achieve and useful on any build; it's hardly making you overly MAD! Alternatively, leave Str at 13 or 14 and focus in on Dex for everything that brings.

Personally, I'd be very tempted by a Chaotic Good Ancients Paladin/Arcane Trickster, really playing up on benevolent, but mischevious fey themes with the Trickster features and spells. It would be a good opportunity to showcase the fickle nature of the Fey. Ancients Paladin also has one of the best defensive auras as far as damage mitigation goes, fitting in with your goal of being super tough.

I would be inclined to take 1st level as Rogue for Dex/Int Save proficiency (shoring up your Int Save, which is almost certainly your dump stat) and the additional Skill Proficiency. The advantage of taking Paladin at 1st is Heavy Armour proficiciency, which with Dex 14 is functionally only a single point of AC compared to wearing Medium Armour.

[gnomish dwelf]

how would you role play the combo? what alignment would you use?

[Quietus]

I'd consider one of two things. First, 6 Paladin/11 Rogue - gets you the aura, the Rogue defensive features, and the level 11 skill effect, whose name I can't recall right now. Probably Vengeance/Arcane Trickster, purely for the additional spell slots. You still get 4 ASI this way, via the extra one from Rogue 10, and advancement from here would either be full Paladin or full Rogue, to get Haste at level 20. If you feel like you can give up Haste, you could also go 2 Paladin/1 Rogue for 2 ASI's.

However, it sounds like you mainly want Rogue for the defensive options. Consider : Straight Paladin. As a level 17 Paladin, you have fifth level spells - this includes Circle of Power (advantage on saves against spells/magical effects for all allies within 30 feet), and Holy Weapon. You have 1d8 bonus damage on every attack, mitigating the need for sneak attack, and between that and Holy Weapon you can be adding more damage than you'd get from sneak attack, if you hit both attacks in a turn. You're also one level away from your cha-to-saves aura also extending to 30 feet. Take the Shield Master feat, and now you functionally have Evasion, plus a bump to your dex saves against anything that targets only you - not so great against meteor swarm, but amazing against disintegrate! Oh, plus a bonus action push, because why not.

[Urbanmech]

I think it comes down to which features you want to mix and match. Paladin 6 for the save bonus is a must and then at least 7 levels of Rogue for Evasion. Paladin 8 and Rogue 8 give you 4 ASIÂ’s to play with. Half elf can start with 13, 14, 14, 8, 10, 17. You can go hexblade 1 for Cha SADness or rogue 9 for another d6 of sneak attack and rogue subclass feature. You can pick up Elven Accuracy, +Cha, Resilient Wis or Con and Sentinel. If you start rogue you get saves of +6/+13/+8/+10/+11/+11.

If you decide to not do the hexblade dip the following rogue options open up. Phantom Rogue 9 feature is really good. If you start Rogue and then take Resilient Wisdom you can be proficient in all three major saves. Soul Knife 9 also gives some really useful features, bonus action 10-80Â’ teleport seems like it could really save your bacon from some high level threats. Plus with Psi-bolstered knack you wonÂ’t be failing proficient skill checks very often.

For Paladin subclasses Watchers gives a fantastic initiative boost and the Channel Divinity can really help vs any mental saves. Ancients aura can be clutch if you will be taking a lot of spell damage, but I think it may be a bit redundant with Evasion.

Lots of choices on how to build this out, good luck and let us know what you settle on and how it goes.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Consider Vengeance 8, Phantom 9. Sort of a vengeance for lost souls kind of guy. They speak to him and he roots out those that sent them to the nether regions.

Vow of Enmity gets 1 min. of advantage on attack = Sneak Attack every round. +5d6 without any smites. You could do some cool stuff with soul trinkets too.

I was thinking Vengeance 9 to get Haste then the Sneak Attack can happen with the extra action. If you want a 2nd sneak attack you can ready your main attack.

[Arkhios]

I was thinking Vengeance 9 to get Haste then the Sneak Attack can happen with the extra action. If you want a 2nd sneak attack you can ready your main attack.

Paladin 9 is always a good idea, imho. There's many good spells you'd otherwise lose access to.

[f5anor]

All that being said, I'm open to suggestions. How would you go about putting together a Paladin Rogue?

I would say that from an optimization point of view, there is the obvious option of Assassin in order to get Assassinate, which is a great match for Paladin Smites, with some extra help from Sneak Attack. Of course, this requires that you have some means to achieve surprise, therefore more optimization is required here.

[JLandan]

I would say that from an optimization point of view, there is the obvious option of Assassin in order to get Assassinate, which is a great match for Paladin Smites, with some extra help from Sneak Attack. Of course, this requires that you have some means to achieve surprise, therefore more optimization is required here.

Vow of Enmity from Vengeance oath is good for advantage. For surprise, one option- invisibility item, second option (my favorite)- race: Vhuman, with Shadow-touched feat Invisibility and another 1st level from illusion or necromancy, probably none of which is already on the Paladin list.

Shadow-touched is definitely not beyond the scope of a Paladin/Rogue character.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Paladin 9 is always a good idea, imho. There's many good spells you'd otherwise lose access to.

Agreed, even beyond the Haste/ Vengeance/ Assassin combo. There's a bump from 2nd to 3rd level spells in power and any of these characters would get more options that are going to remain viable to late game.
I'd say the same thing about Ranger; Gloomstalker 9 was my jumping off point for the same reason.

[Sception]

Consider asking your DM if they'd let you homebrew smite on ranged weapon attacks, or even just thrown weapon attacks. The melee restriction is there more for flavor than balance, and a ranged smiting build would make the rogue multiclass work a fair bit better. If they're not ok with it, so be it, but imo it wouldn't hurt to ask, and it might help a lot.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Consider asking your DM if they'd let you homebrew smite on ranged weapon attacks, or even just thrown weapon attacks. The melee restriction is there more for flavor than balance, and a ranged smiting build would make the rogue multiclass work a fair bit better. If they're not ok with it, so be it, but imo it wouldn't hurt to ask, and it might help a lot.

I really can't agree with anything that's written here, unless the intent is to make this multiclass overpowered. I speak from experience playing a Paladin / Rogue as this was probably the single nastiest character I've had through mid levels. The ability to sneak up and nova damage before a fight has even started is game changing. Consider how much damage an Assassin with Auto-crit on top of Smite damage + Smite spell damage + Sneak attack can do. And it goes up from there; potentially you can tack on poison. Potentially for a Vengeance level 9 you can Haste and do all this with your additional attack... which triggers any bonus action attack you have (duel wielder or Shield master anyone?) Then you have your full attack left, which you can ready and do the lot again, including a 2nd Sneak attack.
Consider other options, like numerous ways an AT can get reliable reaction sneak attacks + Smites as well.
This combo doesn't need help.

[Sception]

I guess I remain skeptical. Sneak attack and smite progression offset each other heavily, and at the levels this character is going to be living at I'm just not sure how realistic surprise attacks are going to be with tremorsense, true strike, flight, etc. Haste, while not bad at all, isn't exactly all that impressive at level 17, especially as you need pre-combat set up rounds which, again, I'm just not sure you're going to get. And for half a character's worth of smite + half a character's worth of sneak attack you're giving up most of the good weapon feats.


I don't know. Maybe I just have to see it in person.

[arnin77]

VHuman Arcane Trickster 10/Treachery Paladin 7?

[5eNeedsDarksun]

I guess I remain skeptical. Sneak attack and smite progression offset each other heavily, and at the levels this character is going to be living at I'm just not sure how realistic surprise attacks are going to be with tremorsense, true strike, flight, etc. Haste, while not bad at all, isn't exactly all that impressive at level 17, especially as you need pre-combat set up rounds which, again, I'm just not sure you're going to get. And for half a character's worth of smite + half a character's worth of sneak attack you're giving up most of the good weapon feats.


I don't know. Maybe I just have to see it in person.

I get that this is table and encounter specific. How successful you're going to be is somewhat dependent on other party members (likely spellcasters) getting the group into positions where they can be the ambushers, not the ambushees. Though this is the case for the single class assassin too; I see posts from other tables saying assassins are crap and they never get surprise, DMs won't let them use poisons, etc... and this build can't fix that.

I do take your point regarding the abilities offsetting. Though I think this combo gives you most of the benefits of the assassin (with the smite compensating for the lost sneak attack dice) and you're a Paladin with the auras, multi-attack, etc to boot. And I think Shield Master (with Athletics expertise) is a good feat/ fighting style.

[Sception]

I'm not a big fan of shield master. The bonus on dex saves being limited to attacks that only target you severely limits the situations where it applies, and the shove end is just worse than a bonus action attack, since you can always shove with one of your attack-action attacks if its ever worth more than an attack to do so - especially since that way you can shove a target prone first and then attack with advantage, where shield master's bonus action shove can only happen after you've already spent your standard action for the round.

Maybe if the dex save bonus was all the time, or if the shove was somehow stronger than an ordinary shove. It's not a terrible feat, but PAM or GWM it is not.

[Yakmala]

I'm not a big fan of shield master. The bonus on dex saves being limited to attacks that only target you severely limits the situations where it applies, and the shove end is just worse than a bonus action attack, since you can always shove with one of your attack-action attacks if its ever worth more than an attack to do so - especially since that way you can shove a target prone first and then attack with advantage, where shield master's bonus action shove can only happen after you've already spent your standard action for the round.

Maybe if the dex save bonus was all the time, or if the shove was somehow stronger than an ordinary shove. It's not a terrible feat, but PAM or GWM it is not.

I think that biggest benefit of Shield Master in this case it that it could replace the need for Evasion, reducing the number of levels of Rogue needed, or, the need for Rogue at all. Evasion is still better at reducing or avoiding damage than Shield Master, as Shield Master does not give you half damage if you fail. But with a Paladin Aura, the chances of failing an AoE Dex save, especially if you have proficiency in Dex Saves, is fairly low.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

One 1/2 feat I'm currently using on a Rogue that's working well is Piercer; though to be fair that's at a far lower level. I do think slasher is worth a look as well if a character ends up needing to even an odd score. I personally like my Paladins to have shields, so I don't really rate GWM for them; PAM yes, assuming a spear or staff.
The bit of extra damage for a 2H weapon on a character that gets a high % of damage from smite vs. the loss of AC benefit of a shield (which by high level is likely +4ish) doesn't seem worth it. The paladins we've had who prioritized offence definitely fell more often and the loss of the auras when that happened often left other characters vulnerable.

[jojo]

IF you're going to do this. You need 12 levels in Rogue to benefit from the 4 Feats you get while still maintaining the 2 feats an 8th level Paladin would get.

Secondly, you absolutely need to GO ROGUE as your Base Class. Third, you need to make sure that your race is optimal (so a Half-Elf) because you're going to be EXTRA-MAD.

IMO the best Rogue sub-class is Scout. It offers bonus movement and other really cool things (such as 2 Expertise features). The best Paladin sub-classes are Ancients and, Watcher.

You're going to be stuck with a Breast-Plate so...

You know what? I don't know, this is a very weird build. I'd stick with the first two things I said and do whatever else feels right from there, I'm not sure there are right answers here.

[f5anor]

Vow of Enmity from Vengeance oath is good for advantage. For surprise, one option- invisibility item, second option (my favorite)- race: Vhuman, with Shadow-touched feat Invisibility and another 1st level from illusion or necromancy, probably none of which is already on the Paladin list.

Shadow-touched is definitely not beyond the scope of a Paladin/Rogue character.

This is indeed an interesting idea, if you double down on this track and go Wood Elf and get Wood Elf Magic and Pass without Trace, you could also have a super reliable Stealth ability. A big bonus to Stealth is important, since you will be unable to surprise anyone, even if invisible, in full plate, otherwise.

The issue with this, is that you need one/two feats, which is a massive investment of course. Plus you loose one ASI due to the 3 levels of Rogue. This leaves you with only 2 further feats in total.

It could be easier to get some additional multiclass instead.

If you go at least one level HexBlade, you can maybe try to build a DEX/CHA Paladin dump STR and skip the full plate. This would make stealthing easier and possibly remove the need for a second feat. Plus, of course HexBlade brings many excellent goodies on top.

You can of course consider to go for more HexBlade levels. For example Shadow Blade (2nd level Warlock spell) would be great for more crit dice to reroll.
You can possibly also double smite with this setup, which would be quite optimal when crtiting with Shadow Blade.

So this would be Rogue (Assassin) min 3 / Warlock (HexBlade) min 3 (9 for max Shadow Blade) / Paladin (Vengeance) min 6 (9 for 3rd level spells).

Of course going down Sorcerer will give more spell slots for smiting.

So this would be Rogue (Assassin) min 3 / Warlock (HexBlade) min 1 / Paladin min 2 / Sorcerer x (Shadow?) similar to a more traditional Sorcadin/Padlock

Come to think of it, this would be extremely thematic, a vengeance seeking angry Paladin, out to assassinate the people he holds responsible, motivated and supported in the back by a mysterious HexBlade patron for its own ends.

Going Elf (Shadar-kai) would also give you access to the very useful Blessing of the Raven Queen teleport ability.

[ThaddeusJenkins]

One of my recent theorycraft characters was Paladin/Rogue, and i'm glad you made this thread because I had a lot of trouble finding decent information at the time :P

I just wanted to do a quick breakdown of class options here. Any MC should be complimenting the abilities of one side or the other, so it would be good to get a list (Feel free to tell me i'm wrong or add things).

Paladin:
Spellcasting is great for any martial class, and Pally tends towards buffs (especially weapon buffs) that are easy to cast. Extra Attack ensures Sneak Attack lands once per turn. Divine Smite can stack with Sneak Attack for silly damage. Auras on top of the Rogue abilities should make saving throws a piece of cake.

Oaths

Devotion: Sacred Weapon doubles down on your stat bonuses, could be beneficial to go heavier on CHA with a Swashbuckler.
Ancients: Nature's Wrath and Ensnaring Strike to restrain a target means easy SA I guess. Resistance to spell damage is more interesting.
Vengeance: Frighten is neat for a duelist to pick their targets, but the real winner obviously is Vow of Enmity. Advantage for a whole combat as a Bonus! Unfortunately just on one enemy, and there isn't too much else that's interesting.
Conquest: Again, Fear is neat. +10 to hit guarantees that SA opportunity lands.
Redemption: Persuasion is pretty common for Rogues out of combat, everything else is good but doesn't necessarily boost the Rogue.
Oath of Glory: Advantage on your common movement/grapple related skills has a lot of options, especially with how many skill boosts Rogues get. The +10 speed could be great for an assassin type, or really any rogue could make use of it. I'd love to make Zorro with this, zooming through the darkness on my super fast horse.
Watchers: Good utility spells. Great saving throws. Higher initiative is loved by Assassins. Got nothing bad to say.



Rogue:
Expertise is great where Paladins can lack for good skills, especially boosting something like Athletics. Sneak Attack is consistent damage on the turns you don't get to Divine Strike, making that decision a little easier. Uncanny Dodge & Evasion only get better when you're playing on the front line.

Archetypes

Thief: Honestly not a lot on it's own? But I wouldn't call it bad. Better action efficiency, improvements to your athletic abilities, and more stealth are all good, they just don't necessarily help the Paladin.
Assassin: Advantage when you go first is good when you have a way of ensuring you do, but SA is still only once per turn. The surprise part is a trap as you know. I'd stop at level 3 if going this route.
Arcane Trickster: Still get your spell slots while not levelling Paladin! Mage Hand has a lot of uses, and theoretically a 7/13 character could get a lot out of it, but that's no use for most of your game.
Inquisitive: Insightful Fighting is one of my favourite ways to get advantage, but your Wisdom is going to have to be really good. Very very MAD, but has potential with the right race, a good stat roll, and maybe a DM who will let you ignore the STR MC requirement.
Mastermind: Just... absolutely nothing of use. Such a shame. You don't care about Help because you're the damage dealer, and if you want to learn basic info about an enemy just MC Battlemaster instead.
Scout: Skirmish could be iffy if you want to tank, but more speed options are always beneficial. I like it, even if it's light on features.
Swashbuckler: The obvious power-choice, if that's your thing. Ignoring OAs, initiative boosts, and pretty much a guaranteed SA for challenging someone to a duel. And all of it boosted off your CHA. Easy money.
Phantom: This subclass has issues with it's main feature being locked at level 9. I've heard of DMs giving it earlier, or at least a weaker version. Still, free skills on demand is good for the Paladin's small selection, and spreading more damage out is good I guess. Has really good roleplay potential though, I'd love to play a Crusader who is mentally and physically haunted by the people he killed.
Soulknife: Better ability checks, but only if you already have proficiency? You probably don't have much use for a glowing dagger.



Did I miss anything? I only have access to the core books. Stealing TreantMonk's colour scheme for my own opinions and to make it look pretty, but please don't take anything I say as fact.

[JellyPooga]

Hmm...On the subject of subclass, one interesting option might be Thief Rogue/Vengeance Paladin. On 1st blush it doesn't seem that great, but Fast Hands plus Expertise in Athletics combined with Extra Attack from Paladin is a solid combination for a bounty hunter style character; able to grapple a target effectively then throw down traps or use manacles, rope or even poisons as a bonus action. Carry a whip, shortsword and shield, using whichever suits your purpose in the moment; a reactive and practical character, hard to kill and relentless.

[Eldariel]

Sadly spell leveling for multiclass half- and third-casters is kinda butchered; otherwise Arcane Trickster/Paladin could maintain most of the good stuff. The optimal split for spell levels would naturally be Trickster 12/Paladin 8 or Paladin 14/Trickster 6. Trickster 9 is good for the disadvantage on enemy saves (even as not-a-primary-caster, giving enemies disadvantage on a CC spell like upcast Hold Person or Blindness or Web could be fairly brutal setting you up to obliterate said targets) and if you don't look to get to level 20, Trickster 9/Paladin X is fairly good (though misses out on Reliable Talent but it actually isn't all that impressive). Trickster 9/Pally 10 would have the same casting as Pally 16, which isn't awful especially since you get some convenient arcane spells to round out your Paladinhood (but you'd miss out on Find Greater Steed, which is only available on Pally 13). Though it would miss out on level 5 spells of course (by a single level, no less; multiclassing a full caster like Twilight Cleric for the last level would get you 5ths).

As it stands, the best synergies you get are Uncanny Dodge on a tanky shell, some extra rider dice (meaning you can obliterate with crits and critfishing doesn't seem bad; Hexblade dip seems fairly reasonable to use your Cha to attack and get the 19-20 crit range to combine with Elven Accuracy, and anything that makes enemies take autocrits like Magical Ambush + various debilitating spells seems interesting). The cost is Smite slots, higher level spells, aura improvements and such. It's not an untenable trade; Paladin gets their best things over the first 7 levels. It is, however, a very one-dimensional trade in that you mostly get more damage and a strong defensive reaction; in spite of Rogue's skill use, it's not likely to be a significant improvement in terms of overall utility since it comes at the cost of spell levels and slots.


To be clear, I'd probably still look at Arcane Trickster even though you have to walk the tightrope WRT spell progression; getting cantrips alone is a huge versatility boost, familiar is really nice, and the Wizard list has a lot of solid spells which can help make the Paladin slots more versatile. And extra slots, even if not as many as one might hope, still means extra Smiting too.

[Dalinar]

Mastermind: Just... absolutely nothing of use. Such a shame. You don't care about Help because you're the damage dealer, and if you want to learn basic info about an enemy just MC Battlemaster instead.

It's 3:45 AM and I cannot sleep, so I'm gonna take a moment to defend Mastermind/Paladin. Go 7/7 alongside someone else who deals big melee damage with advantage (another Rogue is probably ideal). Doesn't have to be melee, I guess, but that's the most synergistic option. (I'd take the Paladin levels first, but you can do whatever you like. Maybe throw in Hexblade 1 to reduce the MAD.)

What does that get you? Well, Paladins are a bit starved for bonus action options, unless you're using Smite spells to increase your burst--which is frequently not ideal unless your adventuring days are very short. Instead you can now dash or disengage to get into the thick of things faster, or when that's not required you can give an ally advantage on anything within 30 feet of you. That's your BA. Your regular action involves stabbing with a rapier twice, or else shoving a target prone and then attacking once with advantage (use this only if you can't get Sneak Attack or if your party is very melee heavy; otherwise attacking twice is just better). 4d6 + 1d8 + mod is nothing to sneeze at, especially should you feel the need to add a couple d8s via Smite. Your AC is also decent with either medium or heavy armor (exact stat distribution will decide that) and a shield. Your Rogue levels grant you Uncanny Dodge and Evasion to increase your survivability substantially, while your Paladin levels give you great saves and a subclass aura (Ancients is ideal).

Meanwhile, your Rogue 14 buddy will appreciate having advantage without having to work for it, freeing up their movement and bonus action (assuming they'd have used Steady Aim otherwise).

Ancients aura will extend to your buddy, making you both nearly untouchable by DEX save effects and resistant to other magical damage as well--which you're more likely to save against thanks to your saving throw aura.