So not too much details because my party may see but I have created a halfling paladin of conquest because why not. Naturally going 15 strength for plate armour decent con and cha as my main stat. Problem is looking at build in future levels it's very tanky and good with spells but lowish strength so not the best at bashing skulls. (or kneecaps on anything more than 4 foot tall)

So I looked at dipping for a level of hexblade so I can add my cha to to hit and damage rolls but doing so I would miss out on invincible conqueror which looks awesome from both how powerful it is and an rp perspective. 

So question is stick with lowish strength and hope I get a magical item to boost it a bit or dip for hexblade and miss out on invincible conqueror?

I've said this multiple times now on this forum. As a STR based Paladin strength is important however dont waste any ASIs on it. There are so many Items that in crease you're strength. As long as you have a 14 in str theres no real worry until you get this item.

Remember as a halfling you're at disadvantage if you use heavy weapons.

You dont absolutely need a 20 in CHA an 18 works just fine.

If you're using point buy halfling in particular can walk out with only two 8s in wisdom and intelligent. Theses are then made almost irrelevant by aura of protection and even more so if you get a ring of protection.

If you go 3 levels of warlock to get hexblade you are missing you're level 2 ability an ASI and one of your 5th lvl spell slots. Keep this in mind if you decide to so that.

I'd stay the course in Paladin if you're asking mechanically. However it really comes down to what the character would do. I tend to design characters around a desired effect. Not design characters and then take a desired effect.

You can actually put points into Dexterity instead of Strength if you want and don't mind attacking with Daggers or Short Swords. Unlike Barbarian, none of your abilities are keyed off of Strength based attacks, just melee ones.

I would prioritize Strength or Dexterity first with ASIs (try to get it to an 18) with a 16 Charisma, and probably a 14 Constitution.

If you go the hexblade dip route (a very popular multiclass combination), then stat priority is CHA then CON then whatever.

I would never depend on a magic item to make my character work.

It is a relatively small gain to use charisma instead of strength for attacks and damage (hex warrior feature) given that the game is not meant to require MIN/MAXing. Where as it is extraordinary to come up with a role playing reason for a Paladin bound by an oath to suddenly seek power by making a pact with an entity from the shadowfell, perhaps the raven queen herself.

IMO: Stay the course, and enjoy playing a consistent character.

Quote from KhaldoDraigo >>

 

 If you go 3 levels of warlock to get hexblade you are missing you're level 2 ability an ASI and one of your 5th lvl spell slots. Keep this in mind if you decide to so that.

 You only dip 1 level for hexblade

I meant pact of the blade

If I was a Halfling pala I'd go for dexterity. Still plenty of AC and one less stat to focus on.

I'd go with dex and just wear medium armor with rapier and shield.

If you don't like the idea of a rapier just ask if you can reskin it. I can understand that using a rapier gets old. So sad there isnt another D8 option for dex.

There shouldn't even be the rapier at D8.

I have a Halfing paladin that duel wields a pair of shortswords and only wears chainmail or lighter because she is into acrobatics while fighting. Went DEX instead of STR and bonuses are working well!

As far as people recommending Dex Paladins. Mechanically Speaking no dex Paladin is going to out perform a STR Paladin. Unless your lucky and have a 13 in STR for heavy armor. This is like saying Dual wielding isn't subpar to every other fighting choice. And dual wielding as a Paladin is even more useless as you don't get the fighting style and have to multiclass to get it. Well if you don't have a 13 STR your aren't multiclassing.

Paladins are tanks but not in tanks in the sense of Damage absorption. They are tanks in that they can have extremely high AC very easily. Some AC build I've built can easily get over 30. No Dex Paladin is going to be as survivable as a STR based paladin or hit as hard and as frequently when items like giant belts exist. 

If this is something you want to do thematically go for it, but it is not a mechanically sound build at all.

The difference between a str paladin in heavy armor and a dex paladin in medium armor...is 1 AC.  The only reason to go ST is if you want 2h weapons.  Your flat, 100% wrong that a dex build is not mechanically sound.  It's 1 AC shy of a str s/s build, but with better ranged options, better saving throws and better skill checks.  The only thing you /can't/ do is DPS as well as a 2h paladin.

"no dex Paladin is going to outperform a STR Paladin..."

Well that's just a blatant lie. I mean come on now, you've got to have heard of the Dexadins. Many peoples have played them and sworn by them. They're fun, they're good, they work, what else do you expect from a class?

Let me see your numbers and proof

I have no dog in this fight but I believe, dahhahm, the burden of proof is on you. khaldo made a case against dex based Paladins, which according to you is a "blatant lie". Perhaps you should tell the world why ... using numbers and proof.

Well sure, I mean I thought it was pretty obvious, you can believe me or use google:

1d8 rapier + dex modifier is the same as 1d8 longsword + str modifier, you're not losing any damage in a sword and shield build

+5 dex and studded leather give you 17 AC, 1 less then platemail, but additional dex for common dex saves

Naturally higher initiative

Paladin has no long range or cantrip ability, dex builds + bows gives utility for anything that flies, and makes full use of martial weapon skill set Paladins have

Egalitarian builds that allow stealth and lockpicking, should you find yourself in an Urchin background

Loss of athletics means loss of grappling/shoving, but any athletics contest can be contested with acrobatics, so defensively, you're not at a disadvantage for checks

There's no loss in any divine smite/CHA modifying save, because nothing works directly upon a STR modifier.

So Gigaflop, just because you want to stay out, doesn't mean I can't respectfully pull you into the fight by honest request that we help clear the confusion: what's your opinion? What does a STR Paladin have, that a DEX Paladin cannot accomplish? What dictates a Paladin must go STR in any way?

There ya go! That's a great post!

Dex saves and bow utility are especially solid points.

The last bit seems to be a straw man argument, as I never said or implied anything about what a Paladin must choose.

Cheers, good work!

Let's add some stuff to that: Dex pala could pick up medium armour master to rival Str pala's armour AND still be able to stealth like a trueborn ninja.

Also: Two weapon fighting isn't completely garbage as a paladin. You lose out on the Damage on your offhand attack, but in return you would pick up the defense style and have a higher AC, which could be further enhanced by grabbing the dual wielder feat, more armour class, bigger weapons.

Also, seeing as paladins are known for being Nova Blasty damage people, having that extra attack allows you to Nova even more...3 Smites in 1 turn, here I come!

The one other place where STR makes sense is grappler builds.  I tend to forget about them because I hate grapping with a passion, but that's another way you can make STR shine.

Dex builds are absolutely viable.  Better initiative is always useful, dex saves are otherwise an area where paladins tend to leak hp.  High dex lets you stealth - usually not a big deal since paladins are generally not going to be a party scout, but if you end up in a party where everybody else is stealthy then you don't want to be the one guy preventing full team stealth tactics.

The biggest issue with light or medium armored dex builds is the 13 strength requirement for multiclassing.  If you don't intend to multiclass that isn't an issue, but if you do intend to multiclass then it's very difficult to meet that requirement without dropping your dex or charisma scores below 16, or your con score below 14, which you really don't want to do.  Half elves can do it, but half elf stat bonuses are ridiculous.

Missing out on multiclassing can be a pain - a lot of paladin builds really want to either dip hexblade warlock at some point, or multiclass out into divine soul sorcerer for their later progression, or both.  The pressure on multiclassing out of Paladin isn't quite as high since Xanathar's guide introduced Improved Find Steed, giving you a very strong reason to hold out to level 13, at which point the level 15 oath features are only a couple levels away, then aura expansion just a few levels after that, which then puts you in striking distance of the fantastic level 20 captstones.  But still, not multiclassing is a cost.

But it's a cost that there can be several reasons to pay.  In addition to the aformentioned initiative, dex saves, etc, Dexadins also have a different set of optimal races to choose from, with several great picks, including lightfoot halflings, which actually make great paladins, for a number of reasons.

1. small size lets them make better use of Find Steed than most other paladins, as they can ride their Mastiff around indoors without bother.
2. when they aren't righting their good, good doggo, they can move through the spaces of larger enemies, which is fantastic for positioning in melee.  This is great for blocking enemy movement, positioning paladin auras, etc.  It's helpful for conquest paladins in particular for positioning Fear cones.
3. lucky is an amazing feature on any class, one of the best racial traits in the game.

There are other great dexadin races as well, eladrin in particular springs to mind, but this thread's about a halfling paladin, so I'll leave it at that.

...

For a conqueror in particular, you WILL eventually want to raise your Charisma to 20, because the core feature of your subclass only works on enemies you frighten, which means they have to fail their saving throws first, which means your DCs need to be as high as possible.  Raising charisma at levels 4 and 8 is not a bad call, though if you have some particular feat that's essential to how you see your build working you can push that back.  You also really want to improve your concentration saves, the main options there are the feats Lucky, Resilient: Constitution, or War Caster.  Which you pick is up to you, but if you opt for a single classed dexadin I'd personally suggest Lucky due to the thematic alignment with playing a halfling, while if you stick with your plan to dip Hexblade then the one you want is War Caster, since that also lets you make use of the hexblade's Shield spell while your hands are full, and lets you cast Booming Blade as an opportunity attack, provided your DM allows SCAG cantrips and you aren't playing in Adventurer's League, in which case Xanathar has to be your +1 to access Oath of Conquest.

If you plan to dip hexblade, I'd go for a build like this:

S15 d10 c14 i8 w10 h16.  Take warcaster at paladin 4, +2 cha at paladin 8.  Dip hexblade either at level 2 or at level 10.  Either way, at level 10 you should be Paladin 10 (heavy armor, divine smite, bless, wrathful smite, extra attack, find steed, spiritual weapon, aura of protection, aura of conquest, fear, and 2 ASIs), Warlock 1 (hex warrior, hexblade's curse, booming blade, eldritch blast, shield, a short rest slot for divine smite, wrathful smite, bless, or shield as appropriate).  From there you can continue leveling paladin, gaining aura of courage (easier to place fear cones around party members), improved divine smite, improved find steed (good doggo's ability to fit in dungeons doesn't trump a griffin or pegasus's ability to fly), cleansing touch, scornful rebuke, destructive wave, aura expansion, and 3 more ASIs to max out charisma and take one or two of sentinel, alert, lucky, inspiring leader, or mounted combatant.

Alternatively, you could level warlock some more, picking up invocations (devil's sight is nice, particularly since you lack darkvision otherwise), higher level warlock spells (misty step is a big deal for you, and if you take 5 levels then two extra Fears per short rest is a big deal), and a pact boon.  Blade is the obvious thematic choice, but its mechanics don't do much for you.  Consider instead chain for a highly useful imp familiar plus the 'Gift of the Ever Living Ones' invocation, which improves the efficiency of healing spells and abilities used on you, a great feature for any front line combatant.

Or you could multi out into divine soul sorcerer, grabbing choice benefits like guidance, endure elements, heighten spell metamagic to give a key enemy disadvantage on a frighten save, quicken metamagic to let you squeeze off a fear cone and make your attacks in the first turn of combat, more and higher level spell slots to smite with, and, if you take at least 5 levels, the spirit guardians spell, which scales fantastically so it'll be a great spell to cast in high level slots that you don't actually have spells known for.  It's a good enough spell to be an impressive capstone for your build.

As for narratively justifying these multiclasses, that's easy.  Paladin and Divine Soul Sorcerer are natural complements, and you can reasonably say your divine power as a paladin and faithful commitment to your oath have awakened the divine sorcerous power of your blood at any level.

As for hexblade, it is hard to justify... for some paladins.  But not for you.  The third tenet of of Conquest is "Strength Above All", and that's not talking about ability scores.

If a mysterious entity of the shadowfell offers you the arcane power to better dominate your foes in the form of a pact that manifests as a metaphysical blade embedded in your soul, then yeah, accepting that offer doesn't conflict with your oath at all.  Honestly, if anything, *rejecting* such an offer might be the greater violation, especially if your Conqueror, like most paladins, are somewhat lacking in the intelligence and wisdom scores needed to recognize that such offers tend to come with unspoken strings attached.

....

Again, though, multiclassing isn't at all required, and for a halfling paladin I honestly wouldn't even recommend it.  If you don't plan on multiclassing at all, I'd go for something like this:

s10 d16, c14, i8 w10 h16.  Wear medium armor, wield a rapier and a shield.  Be sure to grab acrobatics proficiency to resist grapples.  Maybe grab a feat at level 4 (sentinel, lucky, inspiring leader, medium armor master, or alert would be my suggestions), but otherwise raise your charisma.  Hope the dm drops a pair of gauntlets of ogre strength - these are relatively common in published adventurers - and call dibs if you see them, as they'll let you make weapon attacks with a +4 stat bonus (good enough honestly), so the only stat you'd have to worry about raising would be charisma, and the rest of your ASIs can go into feats.  If they don't drop, then you will want to go back and raise dexterity to at least an 18 at some point in your build, and honestly Lucky, +2 cha, +2 cha, +2 dex, +2 dex would not be a bad use of your ASIs.  You can also alternate cha and dex if you find yourself missing a bit too much.  But yeah, if you can get a strength-setting item, then swap out both those dex boosts for some combination of medium armor master, alert, war caster, inspiring leader, sentinel, or even mounted combatant once you've upgraded your doggo to a griffin at level 13.

beyond that, grab protection or duelist style, and carry a spare whip for when you want reach over damage.  And just be a conqueror.  Open fights against hoards with aura of conquest or Fear, hit big dumb but hard hitting brutes with wrathful smite, and when faced with frighten immune boss monsters break out divine smite like any other paladin, plus maybe spiritual weapon to give you something to do with your bonus actions.

I have less to say about the single classed dexadin version than the multiclass version, but only because it's a less complex build so there's less to say.  I still think the single classed version is a better fit for a halfling conqueror and will work just fine for you.