Im thinking of doing a paladin / hexblade combo. I normally play wizards and bards but decided to try something unique. Any suggestions? I already have the paladin his race is Kalashtar and last adventure he reached lv 3 and I need to choose an oath. 4th level I want to do hexblade. Is this a good idea? Should I choose a different warlock?
Paladin/Hexblade is a great combo because it allows you to use charisma for your attacks, so you can focus on just one ability score. Hexblade's Curse and access to Shield is really useful too.
Thematically, the Oath of Vengeance seems to complement the dark nature of the Hexblade Patron. Depending on your alignment and how you choose to flavor your patron, the Oath of Conquest or Oathbreaker (if allowed) could also make a really interesting choice.
They all work well, it just depends on what you want to roleplay and which options are more appealing to you.
Oath of Devotion's Sacred Weapon works great with Hex Warrior. Oath of Vengeance's Vow of Enmity works great with Hexblade's Curse to improve your crit chance against an enemy (which in turn lets you smite for big damage.) Hunter's Mark is also nice. Oath of the Ancients has some nice druid/ranger flavor and Eldritch Ward is an amazing defensive ability that complements the Shield spell. Oath of the Crown and Oath of Devotion both have some good crowd control options and let you take damage for others.
All of them have strong selling points and benefit from a level in Hexblade.
I think any pact of the blade warlock synergizes with Paladin. hexblade is popular but parts of the hex warrior and the hexblades curse are available through other means,ie armour proficiencies. and other parts have restrictions ie no two handed charisma modified weapons.
that being said hexblade is real good just thought I would mention that other patrons are good too.
They all work well, it just depends on what you want to roleplay and which options are more appealing to you.
Oath of Devotion's Sacred Weapon works great with Hex Warrior. Oath of Vengeance's Vow of Enmity works great with Hexblade's Curse to improve your crit chance against an enemy (which in turn lets you smite for big damage.) Hunter's Mark is also nice. Oath of the Ancients has some nice druid/ranger flavor and Eldritch Ward is an amazing defensive ability that complements the Shield spell. Oath of the Crown and Oath of Devotion both have some good crowd control options and let you take damage for others.
All of them have strong selling points and benefit from a level in Hexblade.
I second
- Oath of Devotion's Sacred Weapon works great with Hex Warrior
- Oath of Vengeance's Vow of Enmity works great with Hexblade's Curse
I would tend to look at those assuming they can fit the story aspect of your character. Devotion is an easy sell for almost any paladin but in my mind Vengeance seems like it would typically require a sparking event.
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The lack of inflection in text means that a reader of any post adds their own inflection as they "verbalize" it in their head. I write long and repetitive in an effort to be clear and avoid my intent from being skewed or inverted. I am also bad at examples. It is common for people to skim my posts pull out the idea they think I mean or want to argue against or focus on my bad example instead of the point I am actually trying to make. I apologies for the confusion my failure to be clear and concise creates.
have restrictions ie no two handed charisma modified weapons.
Improved Pact Weapon to the rescue...
I had made my comments because the hexblade's hex warrior feature specifically prohibits two-handed weapons from using charisma for attack and damage rolls.
however, I have now reviewed the feature and seen that the restriction is removed if the warlock picks pact of the blade; at least for their conjured pact weapons.
my point stands that, in general, pact of the blade works well with pally, and there are many appealing options for the patron.
Yup, thats why i like to play Vengeance Pally/Hexblade.
I prefer the Oath of Devotion's Sacred Weapon with Hex Warrior mechanic combine with the Raven Queen's Hexblade anti undead bias combine with the Oath of Devotion's anti undead design as a reflection of that intent. Its a pretty strong hunter of the undead combination mechanically and thematically from the story perspective.
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The lack of inflection in text means that a reader of any post adds their own inflection as they "verbalize" it in their head. I write long and repetitive in an effort to be clear and avoid my intent from being skewed or inverted. I am also bad at examples. It is common for people to skim my posts pull out the idea they think I mean or want to argue against or focus on my bad example instead of the point I am actually trying to make. I apologies for the confusion my failure to be clear and concise creates.
It depends what side of the Warlock you want to play, but typically a Palalock could just be content with the level 1 Hexblade feature to use their charisma with weapons and have some more tricks up your sleeves.
If one wants to go deeper and choose Pact of the Blade (which would be the preferred choice, I imagine), going up to level 5 with Warlock should be enough to get any Invocation you might be interested into, and allows for 2 Eldritch Smites at 3d6 to be used (together with Divine Smite) to do some pretty nice nova damage. IMHO, any level above 5th with Warlock is pretty much wasted with this build, as you would loose a lot of Paladin utility and power-scaling for relatively little to gain from the Warlock side.
If one (for some reason) wants to go the Tome or Chain way, then we are going into a whole another territory and I wouldn't really know what to advice.
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
16 paladin /4 lock and 6 paladin / 14 lock are both extremely viable in my opinion.
The biggest issue I have with 15/5 is you're just shy of another ASI from the Paladin side. The issue with 16/4 is you don't get the big gain on the warlock side with the 3rd level slots and a 3rd invocation. It really comes down to a choice of what you need/want. Hexblade Paladins can be tough to manage as they need (effectively) 4 stats to be decent. Using CHA as your primary attacking stat is great, but it ignores defense.
If you go STR based and wear heavy armor; you need 16 STR to wear plate and you have disadvantage on stealth checks. You're likely a 2h striker in this case. You have a high CHA and CON in addition to the 16 STR. DEX optional, but something you may want some amount of for initiative checks.
If you go DEX based and wear light armor, you're likely rolling a fairly high DEX, going sword and shield. Still need a 13 STR for multiclass. DEX for initative and AC.
The reason I like 16pal/4 lock is you get the best features of a Paladin, the spread of spellslots, 2 level 2 spell slots that come back on short rest, 2 invocations, and a decent set of warlock stuff overall. The reason I like 6 pal/14 lock is you get the BEST pieces of paladin, the saving throw aura, and then all the heavy hitting warlock abilities at 5th level spell slots. The biggest problem with 6pal/14lock is the gap and odd configuration of spell slots. You're not casting much, you're hitting... and when you do you have less smite slots to use unless you got a short rest. You feel more like a fighter in this scenario. I think I prefer the 16pal but we'll have to see how the story works out.
If you don't need the ASI... then you can go 15/5 and get the next level of warlock spell slots to bump your damage a bit and get that third invocation. The trade off is apparent but that's it. The heavier warlock build likely suffers less from weapon switching rules and casting limitations... but warcaster (one of the near mandatory feats for this build) can solve that.
In both cases, you want to have a maxed CHA, a reasonably high CON, and some amount of STR and DEX depending on the build. Ultimately you end up with 3 stats you want to be at a decent level as opposed to 2 for most classes. Giving up that ASI could really impact that. Luckily there is only a feat or two that is really key for the builds so it may not be as big of a deal.
The thing I love about all these builds, and I generally let the story arcs define my builds... is that there is a TON of RP hidden in this combination that I am really looking forward to playing out.
Paladin 17(Devotion or Vengeance), Warlock 3(Hex/PoBlade) + Imp PoB invocation
Reasons
Going any deeper into warlock will lose you your lvl 5 spell slot which is super important to have for high-level casts
lvl 3 warlock gets you 2 2nd level spell slots and that's a ton of dmg for every short rest (smites all day)
Hex + Imp Pact of blade gives you the ability to use 2h with Pact of Blade + Hex
This build makes the strength of 16 the max you'll ever need so you can feel free to ASI into CHA instead and get huge benefits from it.
Considerations:
using a 2h weapon is a preference and by no means is necessarily worth the drop in AC from taking GWF over Dueling
Pact weapon gives +1, but if you make a weapon with a +attack/dmg on it your pact weapon they don't stack, so it's wasted on +x/+x weapons.
If you aren't going to get GWF style then just stay with level 1 or 2 warlock (you only really go LVL 3 for 2 lvl2 spell slots and 2hand pact of blade/hex blade usage)
if you choose devotion paladin, consider great weapon master feat because sacred weapon channel negates GWM -5 penalty
fighting with GWF makes you more likely to lose concentration on any spell you may be using for yourself.
Hex curse + Vow of enmity from Oath of Vengeance is disgusting. (Crit fishing 19/20 + advantage on all attacks is perfect for fishing for those big smites)
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It doesn't matter how smart you think are you. No one will want to work with you if you're an *******.
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Im thinking of doing a paladin / hexblade combo. I normally play wizards and bards but decided to try something unique. Any suggestions? I already have the paladin his race is Kalashtar and last adventure he reached lv 3 and I need to choose an oath. 4th level I want to do hexblade. Is this a good idea? Should I choose a different warlock?
Paladin/Hexblade is a great combo because it allows you to use charisma for your attacks, so you can focus on just one ability score. Hexblade's Curse and access to Shield is really useful too.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
What oath of paladin do you think I should use?
Thematically, the Oath of Vengeance seems to complement the dark nature of the Hexblade Patron. Depending on your alignment and how you choose to flavor your patron, the Oath of Conquest or Oathbreaker (if allowed) could also make a really interesting choice.
They all work well, it just depends on what you want to roleplay and which options are more appealing to you.
Oath of Devotion's Sacred Weapon works great with Hex Warrior. Oath of Vengeance's Vow of Enmity works great with Hexblade's Curse to improve your crit chance against an enemy (which in turn lets you smite for big damage.) Hunter's Mark is also nice. Oath of the Ancients has some nice druid/ranger flavor and Eldritch Ward is an amazing defensive ability that complements the Shield spell. Oath of the Crown and Oath of Devotion both have some good crowd control options and let you take damage for others.
All of them have strong selling points and benefit from a level in Hexblade.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
I think any pact of the blade warlock synergizes with Paladin. hexblade is popular but parts of the hex warrior and the hexblades curse are available through other means,ie armour proficiencies. and other parts have restrictions ie no two handed charisma modified weapons.
that being said hexblade is real good just thought I would mention that other patrons are good too.
when in doubt go for the story!
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
I was recently building this type of character, but couldnt decide what oath to use. I think i was leaning on conquest.
Bugbear paladin / warlock (hexblade) but i was never able to make use of their long limbs feature. Blegh.
I second
- Oath of Devotion's Sacred Weapon works great with Hex Warrior
- Oath of Vengeance's Vow of Enmity works great with Hexblade's Curse
I would tend to look at those assuming they can fit the story aspect of your character. Devotion is an easy sell for almost any paladin but in my mind Vengeance seems like it would typically require a sparking event.
The lack of inflection in text means that a reader of any post adds their own inflection as they "verbalize" it in their head. I write long and repetitive in an effort to be clear and avoid my intent from being skewed or inverted. I am also bad at examples. It is common for people to skim my posts pull out the idea they think I mean or want to argue against or focus on my bad example instead of the point I am actually trying to make. I apologies for the confusion my failure to be clear and concise creates.
Thanks for all the advice! It’s really helped and I look foreword to playing this character
Improved Pact Weapon to the rescue...
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Kain de Frostberg- Dark Knight - (Vengeance Pal3/ Hexblade 9), Port Mourn
Kain de Draakberg-Dark Knight lvl8-Avergreen(DitA)
I had made my comments because the hexblade's hex warrior feature specifically prohibits two-handed weapons from using charisma for attack and damage rolls.
however, I have now reviewed the feature and seen that the restriction is removed if the warlock picks pact of the blade; at least for their conjured pact weapons.
my point stands that, in general, pact of the blade works well with pally, and there are many appealing options for the patron.
Jesus Saves!... Everyone else takes damage.
Yup, thats why i like to play Vengeance Pally/Hexblade.
"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Kain de Frostberg- Dark Knight - (Vengeance Pal3/ Hexblade 9), Port Mourn
Kain de Draakberg-Dark Knight lvl8-Avergreen(DitA)
I prefer the Oath of Devotion's Sacred Weapon with Hex Warrior mechanic combine with the Raven Queen's Hexblade anti undead bias combine with the Oath of Devotion's anti undead design as a reflection of that intent. Its a pretty strong hunter of the undead combination mechanically and thematically from the story perspective.
The lack of inflection in text means that a reader of any post adds their own inflection as they "verbalize" it in their head. I write long and repetitive in an effort to be clear and avoid my intent from being skewed or inverted. I am also bad at examples. It is common for people to skim my posts pull out the idea they think I mean or want to argue against or focus on my bad example instead of the point I am actually trying to make. I apologies for the confusion my failure to be clear and concise creates.
the main problem for me with this character is the levels in both classes.
maybe 12 Paladin/ 8 Warlock, 11 Paladin/ 9 Warlock ?
6 Paladin / 14 Warlock?
only the beginning is a little bit easier with 1 Paladin / 1 Warlock, then go strait for Paladin 6 for Aura of Protection.
how do you play him?
It depends what side of the Warlock you want to play, but typically a Palalock could just be content with the level 1 Hexblade feature to use their charisma with weapons and have some more tricks up your sleeves.
If one wants to go deeper and choose Pact of the Blade (which would be the preferred choice, I imagine), going up to level 5 with Warlock should be enough to get any Invocation you might be interested into, and allows for 2 Eldritch Smites at 3d6 to be used (together with Divine Smite) to do some pretty nice nova damage. IMHO, any level above 5th with Warlock is pretty much wasted with this build, as you would loose a lot of Paladin utility and power-scaling for relatively little to gain from the Warlock side.
If one (for some reason) wants to go the Tome or Chain way, then we are going into a whole another territory and I wouldn't really know what to advice.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
this help actually a lot.
i think 15 Paladin / 5 Warlock sounds solid, with the 5th level you get access to lvl 3 spells for the warlock what is very nice with smite.
16 paladin /4 lock and 6 paladin / 14 lock are both extremely viable in my opinion.
The biggest issue I have with 15/5 is you're just shy of another ASI from the Paladin side. The issue with 16/4 is you don't get the big gain on the warlock side with the 3rd level slots and a 3rd invocation. It really comes down to a choice of what you need/want. Hexblade Paladins can be tough to manage as they need (effectively) 4 stats to be decent. Using CHA as your primary attacking stat is great, but it ignores defense.
If you go STR based and wear heavy armor; you need 16 STR to wear plate and you have disadvantage on stealth checks. You're likely a 2h striker in this case. You have a high CHA and CON in addition to the 16 STR. DEX optional, but something you may want some amount of for initiative checks.
If you go DEX based and wear light armor, you're likely rolling a fairly high DEX, going sword and shield. Still need a 13 STR for multiclass. DEX for initative and AC.
The reason I like 16pal/4 lock is you get the best features of a Paladin, the spread of spellslots, 2 level 2 spell slots that come back on short rest, 2 invocations, and a decent set of warlock stuff overall. The reason I like 6 pal/14 lock is you get the BEST pieces of paladin, the saving throw aura, and then all the heavy hitting warlock abilities at 5th level spell slots. The biggest problem with 6pal/14lock is the gap and odd configuration of spell slots. You're not casting much, you're hitting... and when you do you have less smite slots to use unless you got a short rest. You feel more like a fighter in this scenario. I think I prefer the 16pal but we'll have to see how the story works out.
If you don't need the ASI... then you can go 15/5 and get the next level of warlock spell slots to bump your damage a bit and get that third invocation. The trade off is apparent but that's it. The heavier warlock build likely suffers less from weapon switching rules and casting limitations... but warcaster (one of the near mandatory feats for this build) can solve that.
In both cases, you want to have a maxed CHA, a reasonably high CON, and some amount of STR and DEX depending on the build. Ultimately you end up with 3 stats you want to be at a decent level as opposed to 2 for most classes. Giving up that ASI could really impact that. Luckily there is only a feat or two that is really key for the builds so it may not be as big of a deal.
The thing I love about all these builds, and I generally let the story arcs define my builds... is that there is a TON of RP hidden in this combination that I am really looking forward to playing out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeTYXJNzbqM&t=800s
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
I'm currently considering something like Paladin 6 / Hex 2 / Sorc 12 am I a crazy person or is this a solid build?
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Here's my take:
Paladin 17(Devotion or Vengeance), Warlock 3(Hex/PoBlade) + Imp PoB invocation
Reasons
Considerations:
It doesn't matter how smart you think are you. No one will want to work with you if you're an *******.