Paladin/(sorc? Warlock?) for Descent into Avernus

[Jacco]

Hi folks!

I'm going to start Descent into Avernus (levels 1-12 maybe 13) and i'd like to have a few tips. We rolled stats and here are mine : 16-15-14-11-11-11 with the choice to take up to 2 points from one or more stats and give them to another ones.

The concept is a paladin who has betrayed his oath to make a pact with an archdevil for obtaining more power. In the long run he will turn into a death knight until something happens (the DM didn't specify anything else, no spoiler)

What i'm looking for is an optimizated build for consistent damage and nova when needed. Keeping in mind that the DM told me that I could use the mount (find steed) most of the time or at least during fights.

What I've been thinking so far:

Option 1
Race : Tieflieng (levistus) excellent for the thematic and the fire resistance
Stats: 20 Cha (16+2+2) 16 Con (+1), 14 Str, 11 Dex, 10 Int, 10 Wis
Progression: first level paladin then hexblade, rest of paladin
ASI: PAM, Mounted Combatant

S&B Paladin with Dueling style with advance on attacks thanks to the feat (from level 9) and find steed. Solid choice with a starting AC of 20 up to 22.
Questions: is it worth getting mounted combant without Elven Accuracy? For having EA i have to take another race loosing fire resistance, i'm not sure if is it worth..

Option 2
Similar to the first one but with Half-Elf

Race : Half-Elf
Stats: 20 Cha (16+2+2) 16 Con (+1), 15 Str (+1), 11 Dex, 10 Int, 10 Wis
Progression: first level paladin then hexblade, rest of paladin
ASI: PAM, Mounted Combatant, Elven Accuracy (+1 Dex)

It's probably not the most optimal, i would have the last ASI for the end of the adventure. I might have the double-blade scimitar from the start so i can avoid taking PAM.

Option 3
Same as option 2 but with Custom lineage (i'm not sure of the DM will allow it)

Race : Half-Elf
Stats: 20 Cha (16+2+2) 16 Con (+1), 14 Str, 11 Dex, 10 Int, 10 Wis
Progression: first level paladin then hexblade, rest of paladin
ASI: EA (+1 Cha), PAM, Mounted Combatant

With the custom lineage i can have in play three feats at liv 9. Same doubt as option 1: considering the adventure, is it worth loosing fire resistance for a critfishing build?


Extra questions :

1. Mounted Combatant is not essential but being able to exploit it, seemed to me a valid choice to gain advantage in most of the fights
2. Wich Oath? Vegance ofr the 1/short rest advantage or Devotion for better channel divinity in Avernus?
3. GWM is affordable as build?
4. Going with sorcer multiclass may turn out more convience in terms of DPR and nova? In wich case, what is the best progression?

Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot for the help

[tiornys]

Gaining Advantage is a bigger boost over no Advantage than Elven Accuracy is over normal Advantage, so Mounted Combat is definitely worthwhile without Elven Accuracy assuming you expect most of your enemies to be medium or smaller. I don't have any knowledge of the Descent into Avernus adventure, but looking at the sizes of devils up to CR 15 the great majority are small or medium so Mounted Combatant has good chances of being worthwhile.

I'd go Custom Lineage with 20 Cha, 14 Con, 15 Str, 11-10-10; losing a point off the Con modifier isn't great but this keeps you reasonably mobile when your mount gets killed. Start with Polearm Master; between the consistent bonus action attack and the relatively reliable opportunity attacks this is easily the best feat for consistent damage in tier 1. Take Mounted Combatant at Paladin 4 so you have it when you get Find Steed at Paladin 5.

By Paladin 8 you should have a good idea of whether Elven Accuracy or Great Weapon Master will be a better choice. Go Elven Accuracy if you are consistently getting Advantage against foes with higher AC as this is when it's competitive with Great Weapon Master. If you're consistently getting advantage against lower AC foes, the boost from Great Weapon Master will dramatically out-DPR the boost from Elven Accuracy. And of course if you aren't consistently getting Advantage, Great Weapon Master at least functions whereas Elven Accuracy won't.

I think Devotion Paladin is a little better than Vengeance, although both should be fine. The Turn effect is likely to be very strong, and the other CD effect of giving yourself a +5 attack and making your attacks magical can be very strong (all Devils resist non-magical B/P/S attacks, plus there's potential synergy with GWM), and the immunity to Charm aura at Paladin 7 counters some of the nastiest effects that some higher level devils might throw at you.

I don't recommend taking any Sorcerer levels. You want at least Paladin 6 and Devotion wants Paladin 7. Your build is feat hungry so you're incentivized to go Paladin 8 instead of waiting 2-3 extra levels for Sorcerer 4. Once you have Paladin 8, Paladin 9 gives you 3rd level spells, Paladin 10 adds immunity to Frightened to your aura, Paladin 11 is Improved Divine Smite, Paladin 12 is another ASI, and Paladin 13 is Find Greater Steed. Switching to Sorcerer after Paladin 6/7 instead is weaker until you're getting better value from the Sorcerer spells than you would have here. For a ranged Paladin build that arguably happens at Sorcerer 3 (Web access) but for a melee Paladin it's (Divine Soul) Sorcerer 5 with Spirit Guardians. Given you expect the campaign to end around level 12-13, Sorcerer doesn't give you enough quickly enough to be worthwhile.

[Jacco]

Gaining Advantage is a bigger boost over no Advantage than Elven Accuracy is over normal Advantage, so Mounted Combat is definitely worthwhile without Elven Accuracy assuming you expect most of your enemies to be medium or smaller. I don't have any knowledge of the Descent into Avernus adventure, but looking at the sizes of devils up to CR 15 the great majority are small or medium so Mounted Combatant has good chances of being worthwhile.

I'd go Custom Lineage with 20 Cha, 14 Con, 15 Str, 11-10-10; losing a point off the Con modifier isn't great but this keeps you reasonably mobile when your mount gets killed. Start with Polearm Master; between the consistent bonus action attack and the relatively reliable opportunity attacks this is easily the best feat for consistent damage in tier 1. Take Mounted Combatant at Paladin 4 so you have it when you get Find Steed at Paladin 5.

By Paladin 8 you should have a good idea of whether Elven Accuracy or Great Weapon Master will be a better choice. Go Elven Accuracy if you are consistently getting Advantage against foes with higher AC as this is when it's competitive with Great Weapon Master. If you're consistently getting advantage against lower AC foes, the boost from Great Weapon Master will dramatically out-DPR the boost from Elven Accuracy. And of course if you aren't consistently getting Advantage, Great Weapon Master at least functions whereas Elven Accuracy won't.

I think Devotion Paladin is a little better than Vengeance, although both should be fine. The Turn effect is likely to be very strong, and the other CD effect of giving yourself a +5 attack and making your attacks magical can be very strong (all Devils resist non-magical B/P/S attacks, plus there's potential synergy with GWM), and the immunity to Charm aura at Paladin 7 counters some of the nastiest effects that some higher level devils might throw at you.

I don't recommend taking any Sorcerer levels. You want at least Paladin 6 and Devotion wants Paladin 7. Your build is feat hungry so you're incentivized to go Paladin 8 instead of waiting 2-3 extra levels for Sorcerer 4. Once you have Paladin 8, Paladin 9 gives you 3rd level spells, Paladin 10 adds immunity to Frightened to your aura, Paladin 11 is Improved Divine Smite, Paladin 12 is another ASI, and Paladin 13 is Find Greater Steed. Switching to Sorcerer after Paladin 6/7 instead is weaker until you're getting better value from the Sorcerer spells than you would have here. For a ranged Paladin build that arguably happens at Sorcerer 3 (Web access) but for a melee Paladin it's (Divine Soul) Sorcerer 5 with Spirit Guardians. Given you expect the campaign to end around level 12-13, Sorcerer doesn't give you enough quickly enough to be worthwhile.

Thank you for the answers, really useful. A couple of questions :

• i read what you wrote but you never talked about a dip in warlock as Hexblade, do you take it for granted?
• For having lesser feats to take, isn't better to take double-blade scimitar instead of PAM? I can make the same BA as attack. I'll loose the OA attack but i'll gain an extra feat to take or an ASI.

[tiornys]

Thank you for the answers, really useful. A couple of questions :

• i read what you wrote but you never talked about a dip in warlock as Hexblade, do you take it for granted?
• For having lesser feats to take, isn't better to take double-blade scimitar instead of PAM? I can make the same BA as attack. I'll loose the OA attack but i'll gain an extra feat to take or an ASI.

Yes, I took the Hexblade dip for granted since you had it at level 2 in all three builds. That's absolutely what I recommend.

Double-blade Scimitar is a solid alternative, but it can't benefit from GWM so it's more restricted in how you can pursue damage boosts than PAM. PAM + GWM is the way to build for consistent DPR in melee. If you're inclined to go crit-fishing then double-bladed scimitar is a pretty good option, just keep in mind that crit-fishing by definition is not a consistent DPR build.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

Given the max level of the mod (which I believe is 13), and the fact that you're looking for DPR (which necessitates extra attck and essentially Paly 6) I'm having a tough time seeing how Sorc would be a help. Of course you can go Paly 2, Sorc X, but I don't think that's what you're looking for.

[Keravath]

One comment. If you want to use heavy armor like Scale or plate armor then you need 15 strength or you will have your movement rate reduced by 10'. 14 strength is ok for the chain starting armor - but you will need 15 if you want to wear anything heavier.

Also, you might want to consider whether the character concept makes sense for the module. Check with the DM. It sounds to me like you could end up working at cross purposes with the rest of the party later in the module depending on your in character goals (given evil alignment, evil patron, evil paladin) vs the objectives the module might be expecting from the party. You need to have a really good backstory to explain why your character is sticking with the party and isn't going to backstab them in the end to acquire some cool loot or other element at the expense of whatever the key quest objective for the module might be.

Other than that, Vengeance paladin 1 + hexblade 1 + 5 paladin (level 7 character - gets extra attack, the aura of protection and cha SAD. PAM with spear or staff and shield gives good AC and damage)

Keep in mind that with paladin X / 1 or 2 hexblade - you are likely to only have 2 ASI/feats for the entire game.

The second level of hexblade is useful for the Agonizing blast invocation which will give you a decent ranged attack (something the build lacks).

P.S. with a level cap of 13, I think you'd want to aim for paladin 11 / warlock 2 or paladin 12/warlock 1. Sorcerer might have a few more spell slots but improved divine smite at level 11 is worthwhile on a PAM paladin.

[windgate]

Mounted combat for a paladin is an amazing feature depending on the DM's ruling for it and how often you can use it. It does however have some oddities and unclear rules elements in its usage. I would try to get a sense of how the DM will treat you + horse in combat before investing in that route. Namely: how will the DM judge positioning and whether or not a mounted "find steed" is "independent".

https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/mounted_combat/

If you can reliably be on horseback wielding a lance plus the Sentinel & Mounted combat feats, you end up with a alternative combat style to the typical polearm or heavy weapon strategies. It wasn't one of the options you listed but people probably don't think about it a lot since only paladins (+some bards) can get easy sustainable access to mounts.

Edit: The Vengeance paladin gains access to the haste spell. Find steed has an extra benefit of targeting both you and the mount (at the same time) when casting spells like haste. Depending on how the DM rules, that means you can get 2 extra attacks on your turn instead of the normal 1 from the spell (or the horse can move you up to 300 feet per turn after you attack).

Edit2: Sentinel + Reach Weapon (such as a polearm or lance) + 7ths Level Oath of vengeance feature is a small combo that will let you completely immobilize a melee enemy and deny them the ability to attack anyone 1x per round. The class feature also lets you avoid the downside of using a lance when not mounted.

[windgate]

Flavor text wise, the conquest Paladin suits a person obsessed with acquiring power. It will also synergize well with a high charisma and using wrathful smite on warlock spell slots. A lot depends on how often you will able to combine a reach weapon with the frightened condition.