Hi everybody! So, I've been workshopping a character for a while now and I'm in love with him! He's a tiefling Oath of Devotion Paladin, and I'm looking to multiclass him into a Fiend Warlock! How does this work, you ask? Mechanically, I have no idea (that's why I'm here) but lore-wise, he's been trapped into being a Paladin in order to atone for his crimes, but once he gets on good terms with his god and actually begins to follow her will, she hooks him up with a demon friend of hers who owes her one, and thus my sweet boy gets demon magic while still being a holy warrior. He's a man who wants nothing more than to be evil, but if he wants to stay alive, he has to stay good and follow his oath.
I'm not really worried about finding the most optimal Paladin/Warlock multiclass here, because I'd rather focus on his lore and character, so I'm definitely not changing the subclasses for more synergy. Thankfully, both classes use Charisma for spellcasting, so I'm hoping that helps? That being said... I still don't want him to end up dead or useless. I'm more used to DM-ing and haven't had much time as a PC in my D&D career, so multiclassing is foreign to me. I'd like for him to stay more on the Paladin side of things, and only dabble in Warlock, but I'm curious if anyone else has any ideas about how to merge these seemingly polar opposite classes mechanically into one good, powerful boy!
If you're planning on taking Flames of Phlegethos feat, I'd suggest picking up Green Flame Blade to trigger the flames "aura". Otherwise, the standby would be Eldritch Blast and probably one of Mage Hand or Minor Illusion. Spell selection really depends on how much you plan on casting versus Smiting. Hex may not be worth it if you aren't planning on getting your Con above middling, grabbing Resilient (con) or Warcaster, particularly if you are planning on staying in melee but using ASIs on Strength and Charisma. Armor of Agathys might fit what you are looking for, otherwise, find a spell that isn't on the Paladin Spell list. A two level dip will suffice to get you some invocations plus Dark One's Blessing, which will make you sturdier. Those choices will depend on what your overall goal is. If you're planning on more melee action, I'd grab Devil's Sight and then a utility one. Fiendish Vigor competes a little with Dark One's Blessing and Armor of Agathys, but it does give on demand temp HP. Eldritch Sight could be nice, particularly with the role play implications. There are others that might be more thematic for you.
If you want a little more Eldritch Blast action, Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast, Grasp of Hadar, and Lance of Lethargy are all great options to buff the spell and can really help you define your role or give you some added flexibility.
As for your Paladin side, what aspect of devotion will you be playing up? Is your tiefling supposed to protect others? A shield and the defensive fighting style or protection fighting style probably fit that best. Devotion to a God of warfare might lean you into a great weapon fighter. Defensive fighting style or the great weapon fighting style could fit that theme well, depending on what your focus will be.
You'll probably want to give some more details on what your general thoughts of the character are to help others guide you better.
Thank you! That's all super helpful! I'm glad I'll only have to dip into Warlock tbh, because I really didn't want to take away too much from his main struggle.
As for a little bit more insight into the Paladin side of things: He's only a Paladin because he's being forced to be. He killed the favorite knight of the goddess of justice, and she makes him take up their oath as retribution. His duties are essentially to go around, protect the weak, and put evil-doers to justice by smiting them with his holy power. The problem being that he has utterly no desire to do this and is constantly trying to break the mold of what a Paladin should be, as well as break his oath. His goddess wants him to be this tank-y, noble knight in heavy armor with a great sword, but he'd rather be slippery and deceitful, and work with the bad guys instead of kill them. He's a Paladin trying really hard not to do Paladin things, but also having to or else he dies. I picture him refusing to wear the typical mail armor of the trade, opting for lighter options at the expense of his own safety and refusing to use a shield because it comes for his personal aesthetic. He typically uses a pitchfork (trident) so I think great weapon would probably be the best course of action.
Pal-locks are a very effective combo, though perhaps not as much as Sorc-adins. Basically, your Warlock slots are probably most useful to use as short-rest-refreshable Divine Smite resources, rather than being used to cast attack or buff spells in battle, unless you're maxing Cha (which would be easy to do if you were going Hexblade since you could drop Strength, but as a Fiend 'lock, you'll still need Str for your paladin melee attacks) or taking Warcaster to be more confident with concentration saves. Feel free to take Warlock non-combat spells that will be useful while adventuring or roleplaying, and focus on doing melee attacks with Divine Smite in combat (either two regular melee attacks, or one Green Flame Blade), or Eldritch Blast. Don't feel like you have to take Eldritch Blast and Agonizing Blast, you're playing a Paladin not a Warlock, and there's some fun Invocations to pick up to buff yourself as a melee combatant (like Devil's Sight, Fiendish Vigor, or really anything fun that doesn't just give you a new spell you can cast with a warlock slot, those mostly suck). Really Paladins shouldn't be casting much in combat aside from some buffs at the start or heals when things turn dicey, spending most of their spell slots of smites after confirming hits (and especially on crits), and having two or three rechargeable slots will let you get in a lot more smiting without worrying that you're leaving your party vulnerable without a heal in reserve.
If you end up taking a lot of Warlock levels you can go Pact of the Blade and build for things like Lifedrinker and Eldritch Smite to become more heavily damage-focused than a pure paladin could hope to be. But if you're not worried about optimizing combat and are more interested in exploring your roleplaying, I think that Pact of the Chain is very thematic on Fiend 'locks, but Pact of the Tome (and Book of Ancient Secrets) is really great by turning you into a great ritual caster if your party doesn't already have a Wizard hogging all the scrolls. Even if you do have a Wizard... copying a scroll doesn't say it destroys it, if you want rituals too why not?
It sounds like you'll start Paladin for story reasons, which actually works well for mechanical reasons. For your background, I'd consider a charlatan or a criminal if you want to have lighter armor. A noble or Waterdhavian Noble would have a good reason to behave the way that you described if he had been spoiled by spoiled by his family into thinking that the world revolved around him and his family, though he'd probably wear heavy armor because the family could afford it and it's the best. A courtier would give you skills to grease people with words while having enough contempt for them to really want to do bad things to them if he was jaded enough. A faction agent of the Zhentarim persuasion could be ideal. You'd get insight proficiency to read people, deception to con them, your Paladin skills could lean into Intimidation and Persuasion to further "convince" people that you know best. Plus, the Zhentarim would be a great way to organically cross Paladin and Warlock. Your God wants you to stick to your oath, but your faction would want to keep you in the fold. They'd hook you up with the Fiend to give you some power to resist the God. An Urban Bounty Hunter who takes evil bounties could be on point and would give you similar skills.
If you are going to play an evil character, you'll need a reason to stay with the party and actually work with them. Figuring that they can do the majority of the "heavy lifting" of doing good could be motivation enough for the start. Whether a change of heart happens or more of a parasitic/symbiotic relationship ensues (without being the player who antagonizes the party in secret), you'll need to weigh the reasons and see enough benefit to stay and be productive. You'll get enough benefit out of protecting your allies that you'll do it, even if you don't particularly like it. Something along those lines would work.
I'd probably forget about the Great Weapon fighting style. I'd probably go Defensive fighting style instead. This will give you half the benefit of a shield and allow you to bounce between one hand wielding and two hand wielding your trident without feeling like you are losing out on your fighting style. It does work with a shield if your character decides that safety is more of a concern. Plus, focusing more on staying alive and less on doing damage gives him more opportunities to talk his way out of stuff. Talk to your DM about the possibility of adding Trident to the Polearm Master list for some added offensive options.
For race, the base Tiefling is reasonable, but Dispater gives you +1 to dex, Thaumaturgy at will (great effects for role play intimidation), once per long rest Disguise Self at 3rd level and once per long rest Detect Thoughts at 5th. This seems to fit what you're trying to do quite well. It would also let you put your dexterity at 13 to get the 14 necessary to max out your dex bonus to AC with medium armor. You could then put your strength at 15, your constitution at 12, your intelligence and wisdom at 8 and 10 (probably in that order and indicative of the fact that he's not acting wisely nor intelligently when it comes to resisting a God, but not completely hosing your Wisdom Saves, particularly at Paladin 6 when Aura of Protection comes on line) and finally Charisma at 14 (16 after racial). You could then get strength up to 18 and try to max Charisma and maybe get a feat over 20 levels or just get strength to 16, Charisma up to 18, and a feat over 12 levels. With your Paladin spells, you'll be able to prepare them according to your needs each morning. Consider taking ones that mostly benefit you, but throw 1 or 2 into utility because it's what a practical person would do.
A levistus or Zariel Tiefling could also fit well, depending on the build, but those favor more heavy armor. Glasya strictly for the charm spells... but I'd want to be able to swap the dex and wisdom scores if you went that way.
Warlock- two levels will work, but consider 3 or 4. Three will get you a pact which you could use Tome to get three more cantrips. If you take the Flames of Phlegethos racial feat, you could add Produce Flame for on demand Flame wreaths and the fire gives light and can be used for attacks, Fire Bolt, plus another utility cantrip of your choice. Couple this with Green Flame Blade and another utility cantrip from Warlock1 and Thaumaturgy from Tiefling, and you'll have options for not just swinging your Trident, if you so choose. Warlock 4 would get you an ASI one level late if you went Paladin1, Warlock4, and then finished Paladin. This would be a level sooner than Warlock2 Paladin4 and 2 sooner than Warlock 3 Paladin 4. Invocations for this build would probably be Misty Visions, Mask of Many Faces, or Eldritch Sight. Devil's Sight is still a great option if you have someone who casts darkness a lot or if you pick up Warlock 3 and can get it yourself.
Going Warlock 4 would put you behind on Extra Attack watch, but trading one of the cantrips out for Booming Blade or picking it as the 3rd cantrip option at 4th level would mimic it well enough that you wouldn't completely miss it, particularly if the creatures are frequently triggering the damage rider. It would compete with your flame wreath production, though Green Flame Blade could also fill in and have bonus damage if another enemy is within 5 feet of your target. It's not an optimal build, but it's very flavorful and fits the personality that you mentioned so far.
The other options that I mentioned earlier are still valid, particularly if you aren't doing Flames of Phlegethos. Some aspects of this build would still mesh well with an Eldritch Blast build.
Edit: Here's a framework of what it could look like. Change details that don't fit your character.
Unless you have another weapon that you'd like to use, I'd go ahead and grab the trident and shield. If your God wants you to be a tank-y fellow, your God would outfit you as such. You'll be stuck with Chain Mail until you can buy or find otherwise. While Paladins can have their holy symbol etched onto their shield, your character would probably choose something else to avoid needing the shield in the instance that he wanted to cast a Paladin Spell. He'd also forgo the priest pack in favor of the "more useful" dungeoneer or explorer pack.
Jhfffan, thank you! You really nailed what I was looking for and imagining!
I didn't even think about toying around with subraces, but I'll probably go Dispater or Zariel. I'm leaning more towards Dispater though, as you're totally spot on about the +1 to DEX. I see him being naturally more slippery than strong to further emphasize that he probably shouldn't be a Paladin. I want his Dexterity to be pretty good. That being said, his Strength will still be high, but I think the plan is to max Charisma as soon as possible. He's all about the big, dramatic, and magical, so I want his casting to really pack a punch (not to mention that he has to come off like a charming smooth-talker to avoid revealing how much of a brat he really is). Wisdom, as I've rolled him, is his lowest stat with Intelligence and Constitution not far behind, and I'm honestly pretty content with a big dummy who is used to talking his way out of problems (or running from them) instead of applying any sort of practical problem solving skill.
As for background, I'll probably go Criminal, taking Deception and Stealth. Being proficient in Stealth feels like a fun little deviation from the Paladin stereotype, an extra sort of "you can't make me do anything" towards his goddess. Intimidation and Insight from the Paladin skills should work nicely for him as well. I'm thinking I might go Paladin 4 before I go Warlock at all. It'll give me the ASI mechanically and allow for him to grow more acclimated to being a Paladin in the story. His Warlock levels are a sign of good faith and an olive branch from his goddess, so giving him a little extra of a wait before taking his first Warlock levels seems to fit nicely in my eyes. I probably will end up going 3 or 4 eventually, but I might spread them out instead of taking them in a chunk. Or take them in a chunk and then have him jerked back to Paladin before he forgets what he's here for. I'm not too nervous about him losing certain Paladin features. I've never been one to worry about min-maxing my character's potential, thankfully, and once again, I think him lacking certain things pure Paladins have fits well enough with his story that it won't bother me to have him fall short. Especially if his Warlock features pack enough of a punch to make up for it.
I'm definitely going to play around with his spells. Like Chicken_Champ suggested, I want to toy around with some more roleplay viable spells. He's all about causing problems on purpose, and finding stuff he can do just that with is my goal more than just damage output. Flames of Phlegethos delights me. I love the idea of him surrounded by brilliant white flames, making him look more holy than he wants but also more imposing. I enjoy Green-Flame Blade quite a lot, and think you're right that it fits his personality and behavior.
I'll start him off with the dungeoneer's pack. They're ultimately pretty inconsequential but I think the crowbar and the hammer give him the extra sort of flare for his life of crime prior to adventure. I haven't decided on his holy symbol yet, honestly. I like the idea of him casting directly from the trident a lot but I've also been floating the idea of him having some sort of gauntlet or glove that he cannot take off to symbolize that while he has power, he's also trapped into this oath whether he likes it or not. I definitely agree on the shield, and I'm picturing it as maybe a tiny, sort personal shield in appearance, because he'd rather die than carry around something bulky. Same with the chain mail, which I'll have to find some way to trade in immediately because he's just a little bastard who would not wear it anyway. I have no idea what to choose for his secondary weapon, considering Paladins get their choice of a simple melee weapon as well. Ideally, I'd go some kind of crossbow, but it's melee so I'll have to think about what he'd go for.
I'm actually very excited to play around with the idea of him merging with a party. He's a little mischief maker who prefers to work alone, but he's certainly not anti-social. I love your idea of him expecting them to pull his weight in regards to his oath. He might have been ordered to work with them in the expectation that they'd be a good influence on him. I see him trying to cause problems, but failing considering his god has him at metaphorical gunpoint over this. It's probably less "why is he around the party" and more "why does the party have him around" because he's just annoying. I don't want him to antagonize them too much, at least not without consulting the other players about his trouble-making, so I think having him be quite literally unable to stir up anything but minor inconveniences works well and adds a bit of humor to it. The conundrum he's in is self-made, after all, so his attempts to escape it accompanied with his whining and his silly acts of rebellion already make for a nice bit of low-stakes drama with the group.
Your help has been wonderful! This is one of my favorite character concepts I've ever made for D&D and you've really helped me understand how to fit him into the mechanics of the game!
I misspoke when I said that dungeoneer pack is an option. It's the explorers pack that is the option.
I'd honestly just stick with the javelins for the other weapon. It's the superior thrown weapon in the game as far as range and isn't far off if it's not for damage. The trident can also be thrown in a pinch. On the other hand, if you aren't married to the pitchfork or can talk your DM into giving it finesse (maybe at the cost of versatile or thrown), you could double down on the dex idea, go with light armor and simply leave strength at the required 13 for multiclass. You could also eventually pick up the Armor of Shadows as one of your two invocations for free Mage Armor on yourself. Either option meshes better with the stealth concept. Going with Dispater and flipping Strength to 13 and dex to 15 would give you a +3 starting modifier with your melee stat which would free up your first ASI options.
If you are planning on getting Flames of Phlegethos at your first ASI, it might be weird not having any fire spells at the time. If that is a concern, putting the first Warlock level somewhere between level 2-4 delays the ASI a level, but gets you into your concept sooner. Topping at 2-3 levels of Warlock during your first 10 or so is probably wise with your plan to get the first ASI through Paladin. I'd probably get 5 of the first 6 in Paladin to get Extra Attack. I'd get my second Warlock level no later than 9. The option to go Warlock 3 for those extra Cantrips and to upgrade the warlock slots to 2nds will determine whether it's a non factor, getting Warlock 2-3 at 6 & 7 (or even at 5 if you're willing to use your melee cantrips as a stand-in for extra attack for a bit), or somewhere in between. You've got a bit of flexibility with your concept.
It sounds like you've got a concept that has you excited and where you have some room to experiment. I'm glad that I was able to give some ideas that fit your vision.
Why bother with Throwing weapons tho when you have Eldritch blast?... multiple D10's beams as you lvl up Vs 1D8+DEX, Force damage wich is rarely resisted( there's like 6 monsters that have res to force, outside if your DM would use spells that give res to Force), no short/long range, just 120ft range, and if you take the Spell sniper feat, the distance of all the ranged spells get doubled AND ignore covers(except for total).
WHile Flames of Phlegetos is thematic and funny, honestly...a D4 fire dmg, is garbage, you're better just straight taking a +2 CHA ASI or anything else like Warcaster/Tough/Resilient.
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"Normality is but an Illusion, Whats normal to the Spider, is only madness for the Fly"
Why bother with Throwing weapons tho when you have Eldritch blast?... multiple D10's beams as you lvl up Vs 1D8+DEX, Force damage wich is rarely resisted( there's like 6 monsters that have res to force, outside if your DM would use spells that give res to Force), no short/long range, just 120ft range, and if you take the Spell sniper feat, the distance of all the ranged spells get doubled AND ignore covers(except for total).
WHile Flames of Phlegetos is thematic and funny, honestly...a D4 fire dmg, is garbage, you're better just straight taking a +2 CHA ASI or anything else like Warcaster/Tough/Resilient.
If they aren't planning on taking Warlock until 3-5, having the thrown weapons will be useful until then. Besides, the Javelins are included in the starting equipment for Paladin. The only way you'll do better is if you want to diversify your damage types and/or maximize the resale value of an item that you're planning on selling at the first chance. Eldritch Blast is mechanically more sound, but the OP was wanting to focus on flavor more than mechanics. If they take Green Flame Blade, they are making their melee attack on one creature and adding their spellcasting ability modifier to a second creature. With the trident and a +3 Charisma modifier, that's 1d6 or 1d8 (versatile) on the first target and 3 to a second adjacent target, giving 3.5-4.5 to the first and 3 to the second without a second attack roll for a total of 6.5-7.5 depending on how they are holding the weapon. After Paladin 2, they can also Smite on the first creature giving 2d8 for a first level slot, which adds 9 more to the first creature, not factoring the potential crits. Eldritch pimped gives 1d10+3 under the same circumstances or 8.5 once Agonizing Blast is in place. The single target, renewable resource free option of Eldritch Blast is stronger, but the total damage potential is stronger if conditional for Green Flame Blade. At fifth level, Green Flame Blade gains 1d8 to the target and 1d8 to an adjacent target. That means 3.5-4.5 + 4.5 on a hit plus 4.5 + charisma Modifier if a second hostile is within 5 feet of the first and can be seen, plus the potential of Smite. Assuming just a 1st level spell slot, that's 8 (or 9)+9=17 (smite) on the first target and call it 7.5 on the second if available, 24.5 total potential with a floor of 8 average. Eldritch Blast gains the second beam which requires it's own attack roll and can be used against the same target or a different one. Assuming both hit, that's 17, which is better than the floor, but worse than the ceiling. But it does require the cost of using invocations on Eldritch Blast instead of other things that fit the theme of the character better. Without Agonizing Blast, the floor on two hits is only 11 average damage. The OP mentioned that the Tiefling has a disdain for shields, so we could assume that using the 2hand attack will probably be more common, bumping the floor to Green Flame Blade to 9. Without Agonizing Blast, it's literally a damage die upgrade only. The flexibility is similiar for both spells, if a little different. Both can hit two targets at 5th level. EB can do it all the time, but requires an attack roll for both. That's good and bad, since missing on one doesn't mean missing on both, but hitting on one doesn't mean that you get both. Green Flame Blade gets the damage conditionally if the second enemy is present AND the attack hits. However, it has the option to stack with Divine Smite. All of that means that it's basically a wash between the two spells if you aren't getting the upgrade Invocations for EB. If the invocation cost is worth it and EB fits the theme, it is pretty close to a no brainer. Also note that going with a bigger die weapon would favor Green Flame Blade, particularly if its a 1d12 or 2d6 weapon (11th level changes that math).
Assuming that Tomelock is also pursued and Fire Bolt is taken, then EB loses it's damage advantage without AB for instances where the second target is not within 5 ft, but it retains the flexibility bonus of hitting two targets at range who are not next to each other, leading to reduced damage loss through overkill. My suggested inclusion of Produce Flame is primarily for role playing/utility purposes, but it can be used as an attack as well. I like the idea of casting Produce Flame to provide light for all of those Human Variants and other characters without darkvision, but also to trigger the fire wreath bullet of Flames of Phlegethos without having to make an attack. Both the wreathe and the potential to attack with the flame play into the intimidation theme that the character is planned to exhibit (as is Thaumaturgy from Tiefling). It's very much a role playing option that is admittedly reliant on DM approval to work, but is very flavorful. The fact that the flame wreathe also provides light doesn't hurt that aspect of roleplay either, assuming that the character is ok with likely drawing the ire of creatures that would prefer to remain in the shadows. Finally, the 1d4 damage of the wreathe isn't significant all by it's onesies, true. 2.5 damage on average isn't a big deal. However, it's 2.5 damage per hit from any creature within 5 ft of you that hits you with a melee attack until the end of your next turn, without using any action or reaction outside of your attack. If the presence of the flames does happen to dissuade a creature from attacking you, that's as good as taking the hit and giving the damage or better. Plus, the synergy between the wreathe and Dark One's Blessing can't be discounted (kill a creature, gain Temporary HP). The strategy is admittedly better if Elemental Adept (Fire) is taken, since Fire is commonly resisted (a fact that does tilt the math above in favor of EB). The second bullet of Flames of Phlegethos is also nice for a fire damage heavy theme, since it allows any roll of 1 on a damage roll to be rerolled once (if that reroll is a 1, it stays a 1). It's half as good as Great Weapon Fighting Style, meaning that it's ok at best, but the shear number of fire damage rolls in this build would make it a welcome addition.
TLDR: Eldritch Blast has the mechanical edge to the fire theme and thrown weapons. The cost to make that edge significant prevents some of the utility options that the OP was hoping to find, particularly when they were planning to be in melee more and possibly trying to use skill checks to solve more issues than weapon or spell. The Flames Package slots in nicely to the character concept, could aid the skills checks, and frees up the invocation slots for more utility. One of the things that the OP mentioned was the desire to remain valid in combat while remaining true to the character.
Paladin-warlock is a workable combo. (I have an acid specialist kobold pal (conquest)/ sorc(drac)/ warlock that nobody wants to mess with.
That being said, while the mechanics work fine (note text difference on spell gain under warlock- 'locks don't add to the divine loophole as other casting classes do,) the real challenge is crisis of faith and breach of contract.
Crisis of faith (doubt in deity or domain/oath-gee this isn't working the way I thought it would) is a form of breach of contract-it's understood that you'll meet certain obligations of the faith. Demonstrable doubt is a violation of that understood agreement, meaning the divinity may withhold spells of level3+, (your slots are unaffected) and you'll find yourself unable to channel divinity at the very least. You may lose other class features depending on how tough your DM is. With Pact violation you don't lose spells, you've learned those. You will lose your pact slots (they are essentially 'on loan' from the patron) & your pact weapon/tome/chain won't work (at best) or may harm you (depending on your patron.) invocations are also likely to go awry.
Of course, if your deity is ok with you also working for a specific patron, you don't have to worry about it. Good deities are generally ok with celestial pacts, but an infernal they're likely to judge a breach of faith.
On the other hand, if you go around goody-goody while you hold a fiend pact, things can get much worse especially if the contract is with a devil. "...a contract with even the lowliest devil is enforced by Asmodius's will. Any mortal creature that breaks such a contract instantly forfeits its soul, which is spirited away to the Nine Hells." -Monster Manual p.66
Paladin-warlock is a workable combo. (I have an acid specialist kobold pal (conquest)/ sorc(drac)/ warlock that nobody wants to mess with.
That being said, while the mechanics work fine (note text difference on spell gain under warlock- 'locks don't add to the divine loophole as other casting classes do,) the real challenge is crisis of faith and breach of contract.
Crisis of faith (doubt in deity or domain/oath-gee this isn't working the way I thought it would) is a form of breach of contract-it's understood that you'll meet certain obligations of the faith. Demonstrable doubt is a violation of that understood agreement, meaning the divinity may withhold spells of level3+, (your slots are unaffected) and you'll find yourself unable to channel divinity at the very least. You may lose other class features depending on how tough your DM is. With Pact violation you don't lose spells, you've learned those. You will lose your pact slots (they are essentially 'on loan' from the patron) & your pact weapon/tome/chain won't work (at best) or may harm you (depending on your patron.) invocations are also likely to go awry.
Of course, if your deity is ok with you also working for a specific patron, you don't have to worry about it. Good deities are generally ok with celestial pacts, but an infernal they're likely to judge a breach of faith.
On the other hand, if you go around goody-goody while you hold a fiend pact, things can get much worse especially if the contract is with a devil. "...a contract with even the lowliest devil is enforced by Asmodius's will. Any mortal creature that breaks such a contract instantly forfeits its soul, which is spirited away to the Nine Hells." -Monster Manual p.66
It would be a balance to manage if not for the fact that his Oath isn't a traditional one in any aspect of the word, nor is his Pact. He's only a Paladin because he got into some hot water by killing a knight, and the knight's goddess wasn't about to let him get off the hook. She is the goddess of justice, after all. He's essentially held at gunpoint and forced to take the oath as punishment or he'll quite literally be struck dead. Being a massive coward who isn't trying to reap the consequences of his actions quite this soon, he takes the deal hoping he can get out of it pretty easily. But he can't. He's a chaotic evil character being forced to play as a lawful neutral one. So he doesn't lose his spells when he breaks his oath, because that's not really the goal of him being in the oath in the first place, so much as he's struck with searing pain and held on the threat of death. He either uses his power for good or he dies. Thankfully, he and his goddess are both equally stubborn and ridiculous about the whole thing, so he keeps trying to find loopholes and she keeps punishing him and giving him second chances because killing him would be too easy. Plus she sees him as more of a pet project as they get to know each other. She'll make him be good and he'll like it, in her mind. And he followers her orders like a begrudging, rebellious teen who's been asked to do chores otherwise he gets grounded. They're at a push and pull, so the mechanics change a little.
In terms of his pact, he's essentially allowed to do it by her as a sign of good faith. The plan is that he proves he'll cooperate to an extent and she'll let him have demon magic as long as he doesn't abuse it. The demon he gets it from owes her a favor (probably for not killing him, as that seems to be her style) and so he doesn't really have to do anything his patron says because at the end of the day, the patron and the magic coming from his warlock levels is still coming from her and she can cut him off at any time.
As they say: the lord giveth, the lord taketh away.... or just kills you if you break your oath.
It's sort of a complicated, detailed story and I'd never even consider playing him if I didn't think the DM was willing to put up with the gimmick. But trust me, I've got the lore and roleplay aspects down and accounted for.
TL;DR: He can't have a crisis of faith because his oath isn't coming from a place of faith to begin with, and the pact magic is a gift from his god, given to him by a friend of hers, so there's no conflicting goals coming from his patrons. Just from him being the absolute Worst.
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Hi everybody! So, I've been workshopping a character for a while now and I'm in love with him! He's a tiefling Oath of Devotion Paladin, and I'm looking to multiclass him into a Fiend Warlock! How does this work, you ask? Mechanically, I have no idea (that's why I'm here) but lore-wise, he's been trapped into being a Paladin in order to atone for his crimes, but once he gets on good terms with his god and actually begins to follow her will, she hooks him up with a demon friend of hers who owes her one, and thus my sweet boy gets demon magic while still being a holy warrior. He's a man who wants nothing more than to be evil, but if he wants to stay alive, he has to stay good and follow his oath.
I'm not really worried about finding the most optimal Paladin/Warlock multiclass here, because I'd rather focus on his lore and character, so I'm definitely not changing the subclasses for more synergy. Thankfully, both classes use Charisma for spellcasting, so I'm hoping that helps? That being said... I still don't want him to end up dead or useless. I'm more used to DM-ing and haven't had much time as a PC in my D&D career, so multiclassing is foreign to me. I'd like for him to stay more on the Paladin side of things, and only dabble in Warlock, but I'm curious if anyone else has any ideas about how to merge these seemingly polar opposite classes mechanically into one good, powerful boy!
If you're planning on taking Flames of Phlegethos feat, I'd suggest picking up Green Flame Blade to trigger the flames "aura". Otherwise, the standby would be Eldritch Blast and probably one of Mage Hand or Minor Illusion. Spell selection really depends on how much you plan on casting versus Smiting. Hex may not be worth it if you aren't planning on getting your Con above middling, grabbing Resilient (con) or Warcaster, particularly if you are planning on staying in melee but using ASIs on Strength and Charisma. Armor of Agathys might fit what you are looking for, otherwise, find a spell that isn't on the Paladin Spell list. A two level dip will suffice to get you some invocations plus Dark One's Blessing, which will make you sturdier. Those choices will depend on what your overall goal is. If you're planning on more melee action, I'd grab Devil's Sight and then a utility one. Fiendish Vigor competes a little with Dark One's Blessing and Armor of Agathys, but it does give on demand temp HP. Eldritch Sight could be nice, particularly with the role play implications. There are others that might be more thematic for you.
If you want a little more Eldritch Blast action, Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast, Grasp of Hadar, and Lance of Lethargy are all great options to buff the spell and can really help you define your role or give you some added flexibility.
As for your Paladin side, what aspect of devotion will you be playing up? Is your tiefling supposed to protect others? A shield and the defensive fighting style or protection fighting style probably fit that best. Devotion to a God of warfare might lean you into a great weapon fighter. Defensive fighting style or the great weapon fighting style could fit that theme well, depending on what your focus will be.
You'll probably want to give some more details on what your general thoughts of the character are to help others guide you better.
Thank you! That's all super helpful! I'm glad I'll only have to dip into Warlock tbh, because I really didn't want to take away too much from his main struggle.
As for a little bit more insight into the Paladin side of things: He's only a Paladin because he's being forced to be. He killed the favorite knight of the goddess of justice, and she makes him take up their oath as retribution. His duties are essentially to go around, protect the weak, and put evil-doers to justice by smiting them with his holy power. The problem being that he has utterly no desire to do this and is constantly trying to break the mold of what a Paladin should be, as well as break his oath. His goddess wants him to be this tank-y, noble knight in heavy armor with a great sword, but he'd rather be slippery and deceitful, and work with the bad guys instead of kill them. He's a Paladin trying really hard not to do Paladin things, but also having to or else he dies. I picture him refusing to wear the typical mail armor of the trade, opting for lighter options at the expense of his own safety and refusing to use a shield because it comes for his personal aesthetic. He typically uses a pitchfork (trident) so I think great weapon would probably be the best course of action.
Pal-locks are a very effective combo, though perhaps not as much as Sorc-adins. Basically, your Warlock slots are probably most useful to use as short-rest-refreshable Divine Smite resources, rather than being used to cast attack or buff spells in battle, unless you're maxing Cha (which would be easy to do if you were going Hexblade since you could drop Strength, but as a Fiend 'lock, you'll still need Str for your paladin melee attacks) or taking Warcaster to be more confident with concentration saves. Feel free to take Warlock non-combat spells that will be useful while adventuring or roleplaying, and focus on doing melee attacks with Divine Smite in combat (either two regular melee attacks, or one Green Flame Blade), or Eldritch Blast. Don't feel like you have to take Eldritch Blast and Agonizing Blast, you're playing a Paladin not a Warlock, and there's some fun Invocations to pick up to buff yourself as a melee combatant (like Devil's Sight, Fiendish Vigor, or really anything fun that doesn't just give you a new spell you can cast with a warlock slot, those mostly suck). Really Paladins shouldn't be casting much in combat aside from some buffs at the start or heals when things turn dicey, spending most of their spell slots of smites after confirming hits (and especially on crits), and having two or three rechargeable slots will let you get in a lot more smiting without worrying that you're leaving your party vulnerable without a heal in reserve.
If you end up taking a lot of Warlock levels you can go Pact of the Blade and build for things like Lifedrinker and Eldritch Smite to become more heavily damage-focused than a pure paladin could hope to be. But if you're not worried about optimizing combat and are more interested in exploring your roleplaying, I think that Pact of the Chain is very thematic on Fiend 'locks, but Pact of the Tome (and Book of Ancient Secrets) is really great by turning you into a great ritual caster if your party doesn't already have a Wizard hogging all the scrolls. Even if you do have a Wizard... copying a scroll doesn't say it destroys it, if you want rituals too why not?
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
It sounds like you'll start Paladin for story reasons, which actually works well for mechanical reasons. For your background, I'd consider a charlatan or a criminal if you want to have lighter armor. A noble or Waterdhavian Noble would have a good reason to behave the way that you described if he had been spoiled by spoiled by his family into thinking that the world revolved around him and his family, though he'd probably wear heavy armor because the family could afford it and it's the best. A courtier would give you skills to grease people with words while having enough contempt for them to really want to do bad things to them if he was jaded enough. A faction agent of the Zhentarim persuasion could be ideal. You'd get insight proficiency to read people, deception to con them, your Paladin skills could lean into Intimidation and Persuasion to further "convince" people that you know best. Plus, the Zhentarim would be a great way to organically cross Paladin and Warlock. Your God wants you to stick to your oath, but your faction would want to keep you in the fold. They'd hook you up with the Fiend to give you some power to resist the God. An Urban Bounty Hunter who takes evil bounties could be on point and would give you similar skills.
If you are going to play an evil character, you'll need a reason to stay with the party and actually work with them. Figuring that they can do the majority of the "heavy lifting" of doing good could be motivation enough for the start. Whether a change of heart happens or more of a parasitic/symbiotic relationship ensues (without being the player who antagonizes the party in secret), you'll need to weigh the reasons and see enough benefit to stay and be productive. You'll get enough benefit out of protecting your allies that you'll do it, even if you don't particularly like it. Something along those lines would work.
I'd probably forget about the Great Weapon fighting style. I'd probably go Defensive fighting style instead. This will give you half the benefit of a shield and allow you to bounce between one hand wielding and two hand wielding your trident without feeling like you are losing out on your fighting style. It does work with a shield if your character decides that safety is more of a concern. Plus, focusing more on staying alive and less on doing damage gives him more opportunities to talk his way out of stuff. Talk to your DM about the possibility of adding Trident to the Polearm Master list for some added offensive options.
For race, the base Tiefling is reasonable, but Dispater gives you +1 to dex, Thaumaturgy at will (great effects for role play intimidation), once per long rest Disguise Self at 3rd level and once per long rest Detect Thoughts at 5th. This seems to fit what you're trying to do quite well. It would also let you put your dexterity at 13 to get the 14 necessary to max out your dex bonus to AC with medium armor. You could then put your strength at 15, your constitution at 12, your intelligence and wisdom at 8 and 10 (probably in that order and indicative of the fact that he's not acting wisely nor intelligently when it comes to resisting a God, but not completely hosing your Wisdom Saves, particularly at Paladin 6 when Aura of Protection comes on line) and finally Charisma at 14 (16 after racial). You could then get strength up to 18 and try to max Charisma and maybe get a feat over 20 levels or just get strength to 16, Charisma up to 18, and a feat over 12 levels. With your Paladin spells, you'll be able to prepare them according to your needs each morning. Consider taking ones that mostly benefit you, but throw 1 or 2 into utility because it's what a practical person would do.
A levistus or Zariel Tiefling could also fit well, depending on the build, but those favor more heavy armor. Glasya strictly for the charm spells... but I'd want to be able to swap the dex and wisdom scores if you went that way.
Warlock- two levels will work, but consider 3 or 4. Three will get you a pact which you could use Tome to get three more cantrips. If you take the Flames of Phlegethos racial feat, you could add Produce Flame for on demand Flame wreaths and the fire gives light and can be used for attacks, Fire Bolt, plus another utility cantrip of your choice. Couple this with Green Flame Blade and another utility cantrip from Warlock1 and Thaumaturgy from Tiefling, and you'll have options for not just swinging your Trident, if you so choose. Warlock 4 would get you an ASI one level late if you went Paladin1, Warlock4, and then finished Paladin. This would be a level sooner than Warlock2 Paladin4 and 2 sooner than Warlock 3 Paladin 4. Invocations for this build would probably be Misty Visions, Mask of Many Faces, or Eldritch Sight. Devil's Sight is still a great option if you have someone who casts darkness a lot or if you pick up Warlock 3 and can get it yourself.
Going Warlock 4 would put you behind on Extra Attack watch, but trading one of the cantrips out for Booming Blade or picking it as the 3rd cantrip option at 4th level would mimic it well enough that you wouldn't completely miss it, particularly if the creatures are frequently triggering the damage rider. It would compete with your flame wreath production, though Green Flame Blade could also fill in and have bonus damage if another enemy is within 5 feet of your target. It's not an optimal build, but it's very flavorful and fits the personality that you mentioned so far.
The other options that I mentioned earlier are still valid, particularly if you aren't doing Flames of Phlegethos. Some aspects of this build would still mesh well with an Eldritch Blast build.
Edit: Here's a framework of what it could look like. Change details that don't fit your character.
Unless you have another weapon that you'd like to use, I'd go ahead and grab the trident and shield. If your God wants you to be a tank-y fellow, your God would outfit you as such. You'll be stuck with Chain Mail until you can buy or find otherwise. While Paladins can have their holy symbol etched onto their shield, your character would probably choose something else to avoid needing the shield in the instance that he wanted to cast a Paladin Spell. He'd also forgo the priest pack in favor of the "more useful" dungeoneer or explorer pack.
Jhfffan, thank you! You really nailed what I was looking for and imagining!
I didn't even think about toying around with subraces, but I'll probably go Dispater or Zariel. I'm leaning more towards Dispater though, as you're totally spot on about the +1 to DEX. I see him being naturally more slippery than strong to further emphasize that he probably shouldn't be a Paladin. I want his Dexterity to be pretty good. That being said, his Strength will still be high, but I think the plan is to max Charisma as soon as possible. He's all about the big, dramatic, and magical, so I want his casting to really pack a punch (not to mention that he has to come off like a charming smooth-talker to avoid revealing how much of a brat he really is). Wisdom, as I've rolled him, is his lowest stat with Intelligence and Constitution not far behind, and I'm honestly pretty content with a big dummy who is used to talking his way out of problems (or running from them) instead of applying any sort of practical problem solving skill.
As for background, I'll probably go Criminal, taking Deception and Stealth. Being proficient in Stealth feels like a fun little deviation from the Paladin stereotype, an extra sort of "you can't make me do anything" towards his goddess. Intimidation and Insight from the Paladin skills should work nicely for him as well. I'm thinking I might go Paladin 4 before I go Warlock at all. It'll give me the ASI mechanically and allow for him to grow more acclimated to being a Paladin in the story. His Warlock levels are a sign of good faith and an olive branch from his goddess, so giving him a little extra of a wait before taking his first Warlock levels seems to fit nicely in my eyes. I probably will end up going 3 or 4 eventually, but I might spread them out instead of taking them in a chunk. Or take them in a chunk and then have him jerked back to Paladin before he forgets what he's here for. I'm not too nervous about him losing certain Paladin features. I've never been one to worry about min-maxing my character's potential, thankfully, and once again, I think him lacking certain things pure Paladins have fits well enough with his story that it won't bother me to have him fall short. Especially if his Warlock features pack enough of a punch to make up for it.
I'm definitely going to play around with his spells. Like Chicken_Champ suggested, I want to toy around with some more roleplay viable spells. He's all about causing problems on purpose, and finding stuff he can do just that with is my goal more than just damage output. Flames of Phlegethos delights me. I love the idea of him surrounded by brilliant white flames, making him look more holy than he wants but also more imposing. I enjoy Green-Flame Blade quite a lot, and think you're right that it fits his personality and behavior.
I'll start him off with the dungeoneer's pack. They're ultimately pretty inconsequential but I think the crowbar and the hammer give him the extra sort of flare for his life of crime prior to adventure. I haven't decided on his holy symbol yet, honestly. I like the idea of him casting directly from the trident a lot but I've also been floating the idea of him having some sort of gauntlet or glove that he cannot take off to symbolize that while he has power, he's also trapped into this oath whether he likes it or not. I definitely agree on the shield, and I'm picturing it as maybe a tiny, sort personal shield in appearance, because he'd rather die than carry around something bulky. Same with the chain mail, which I'll have to find some way to trade in immediately because he's just a little bastard who would not wear it anyway. I have no idea what to choose for his secondary weapon, considering Paladins get their choice of a simple melee weapon as well. Ideally, I'd go some kind of crossbow, but it's melee so I'll have to think about what he'd go for.
I'm actually very excited to play around with the idea of him merging with a party. He's a little mischief maker who prefers to work alone, but he's certainly not anti-social. I love your idea of him expecting them to pull his weight in regards to his oath. He might have been ordered to work with them in the expectation that they'd be a good influence on him. I see him trying to cause problems, but failing considering his god has him at metaphorical gunpoint over this. It's probably less "why is he around the party" and more "why does the party have him around" because he's just annoying. I don't want him to antagonize them too much, at least not without consulting the other players about his trouble-making, so I think having him be quite literally unable to stir up anything but minor inconveniences works well and adds a bit of humor to it. The conundrum he's in is self-made, after all, so his attempts to escape it accompanied with his whining and his silly acts of rebellion already make for a nice bit of low-stakes drama with the group.
Your help has been wonderful! This is one of my favorite character concepts I've ever made for D&D and you've really helped me understand how to fit him into the mechanics of the game!
I misspoke when I said that dungeoneer pack is an option. It's the explorers pack that is the option.
I'd honestly just stick with the javelins for the other weapon. It's the superior thrown weapon in the game as far as range and isn't far off if it's not for damage. The trident can also be thrown in a pinch. On the other hand, if you aren't married to the pitchfork or can talk your DM into giving it finesse (maybe at the cost of versatile or thrown), you could double down on the dex idea, go with light armor and simply leave strength at the required 13 for multiclass. You could also eventually pick up the Armor of Shadows as one of your two invocations for free Mage Armor on yourself. Either option meshes better with the stealth concept. Going with Dispater and flipping Strength to 13 and dex to 15 would give you a +3 starting modifier with your melee stat which would free up your first ASI options.
If you are planning on getting Flames of Phlegethos at your first ASI, it might be weird not having any fire spells at the time. If that is a concern, putting the first Warlock level somewhere between level 2-4 delays the ASI a level, but gets you into your concept sooner. Topping at 2-3 levels of Warlock during your first 10 or so is probably wise with your plan to get the first ASI through Paladin. I'd probably get 5 of the first 6 in Paladin to get Extra Attack. I'd get my second Warlock level no later than 9. The option to go Warlock 3 for those extra Cantrips and to upgrade the warlock slots to 2nds will determine whether it's a non factor, getting Warlock 2-3 at 6 & 7 (or even at 5 if you're willing to use your melee cantrips as a stand-in for extra attack for a bit), or somewhere in between. You've got a bit of flexibility with your concept.
It sounds like you've got a concept that has you excited and where you have some room to experiment. I'm glad that I was able to give some ideas that fit your vision.
Why bother with Throwing weapons tho when you have Eldritch blast?... multiple D10's beams as you lvl up Vs 1D8+DEX, Force damage wich is rarely resisted( there's like 6 monsters that have res to force, outside if your DM would use spells that give res to Force), no short/long range, just 120ft range, and if you take the Spell sniper feat, the distance of all the ranged spells get doubled AND ignore covers(except for total).
WHile Flames of Phlegetos is thematic and funny, honestly...a D4 fire dmg, is garbage, you're better just straight taking a +2 CHA ASI or anything else like Warcaster/Tough/Resilient.
"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)
If they aren't planning on taking Warlock until 3-5, having the thrown weapons will be useful until then. Besides, the Javelins are included in the starting equipment for Paladin. The only way you'll do better is if you want to diversify your damage types and/or maximize the resale value of an item that you're planning on selling at the first chance. Eldritch Blast is mechanically more sound, but the OP was wanting to focus on flavor more than mechanics. If they take Green Flame Blade, they are making their melee attack on one creature and adding their spellcasting ability modifier to a second creature. With the trident and a +3 Charisma modifier, that's 1d6 or 1d8 (versatile) on the first target and 3 to a second adjacent target, giving 3.5-4.5 to the first and 3 to the second without a second attack roll for a total of 6.5-7.5 depending on how they are holding the weapon. After Paladin 2, they can also Smite on the first creature giving 2d8 for a first level slot, which adds 9 more to the first creature, not factoring the potential crits. Eldritch pimped gives 1d10+3 under the same circumstances or 8.5 once Agonizing Blast is in place. The single target, renewable resource free option of Eldritch Blast is stronger, but the total damage potential is stronger if conditional for Green Flame Blade. At fifth level, Green Flame Blade gains 1d8 to the target and 1d8 to an adjacent target. That means 3.5-4.5 + 4.5 on a hit plus 4.5 + charisma Modifier if a second hostile is within 5 feet of the first and can be seen, plus the potential of Smite. Assuming just a 1st level spell slot, that's 8 (or 9)+9=17 (smite) on the first target and call it 7.5 on the second if available, 24.5 total potential with a floor of 8 average. Eldritch Blast gains the second beam which requires it's own attack roll and can be used against the same target or a different one. Assuming both hit, that's 17, which is better than the floor, but worse than the ceiling. But it does require the cost of using invocations on Eldritch Blast instead of other things that fit the theme of the character better. Without Agonizing Blast, the floor on two hits is only 11 average damage. The OP mentioned that the Tiefling has a disdain for shields, so we could assume that using the 2hand attack will probably be more common, bumping the floor to Green Flame Blade to 9. Without Agonizing Blast, it's literally a damage die upgrade only. The flexibility is similiar for both spells, if a little different. Both can hit two targets at 5th level. EB can do it all the time, but requires an attack roll for both. That's good and bad, since missing on one doesn't mean missing on both, but hitting on one doesn't mean that you get both. Green Flame Blade gets the damage conditionally if the second enemy is present AND the attack hits. However, it has the option to stack with Divine Smite. All of that means that it's basically a wash between the two spells if you aren't getting the upgrade Invocations for EB. If the invocation cost is worth it and EB fits the theme, it is pretty close to a no brainer. Also note that going with a bigger die weapon would favor Green Flame Blade, particularly if its a 1d12 or 2d6 weapon (11th level changes that math).
Assuming that Tomelock is also pursued and Fire Bolt is taken, then EB loses it's damage advantage without AB for instances where the second target is not within 5 ft, but it retains the flexibility bonus of hitting two targets at range who are not next to each other, leading to reduced damage loss through overkill. My suggested inclusion of Produce Flame is primarily for role playing/utility purposes, but it can be used as an attack as well. I like the idea of casting Produce Flame to provide light for all of those Human Variants and other characters without darkvision, but also to trigger the fire wreath bullet of Flames of Phlegethos without having to make an attack. Both the wreathe and the potential to attack with the flame play into the intimidation theme that the character is planned to exhibit (as is Thaumaturgy from Tiefling). It's very much a role playing option that is admittedly reliant on DM approval to work, but is very flavorful. The fact that the flame wreathe also provides light doesn't hurt that aspect of roleplay either, assuming that the character is ok with likely drawing the ire of creatures that would prefer to remain in the shadows. Finally, the 1d4 damage of the wreathe isn't significant all by it's onesies, true. 2.5 damage on average isn't a big deal. However, it's 2.5 damage per hit from any creature within 5 ft of you that hits you with a melee attack until the end of your next turn, without using any action or reaction outside of your attack. If the presence of the flames does happen to dissuade a creature from attacking you, that's as good as taking the hit and giving the damage or better. Plus, the synergy between the wreathe and Dark One's Blessing can't be discounted (kill a creature, gain Temporary HP). The strategy is admittedly better if Elemental Adept (Fire) is taken, since Fire is commonly resisted (a fact that does tilt the math above in favor of EB). The second bullet of Flames of Phlegethos is also nice for a fire damage heavy theme, since it allows any roll of 1 on a damage roll to be rerolled once (if that reroll is a 1, it stays a 1). It's half as good as Great Weapon Fighting Style, meaning that it's ok at best, but the shear number of fire damage rolls in this build would make it a welcome addition.
TLDR: Eldritch Blast has the mechanical edge to the fire theme and thrown weapons. The cost to make that edge significant prevents some of the utility options that the OP was hoping to find, particularly when they were planning to be in melee more and possibly trying to use skill checks to solve more issues than weapon or spell. The Flames Package slots in nicely to the character concept, could aid the skills checks, and frees up the invocation slots for more utility. One of the things that the OP mentioned was the desire to remain valid in combat while remaining true to the character.
Paladin-warlock is a workable combo. (I have an acid specialist kobold pal (conquest)/ sorc(drac)/ warlock that nobody wants to mess with.
That being said, while the mechanics work fine (note text difference on spell gain under warlock- 'locks don't add to the divine loophole as other casting classes do,) the real challenge is crisis of faith and breach of contract.
Crisis of faith (doubt in deity or domain/oath-gee this isn't working the way I thought it would) is a form of breach of contract-it's understood that you'll meet certain obligations of the faith. Demonstrable doubt is a violation of that understood agreement, meaning the divinity may withhold spells of level3+, (your slots are unaffected) and you'll find yourself unable to channel divinity at the very least. You may lose other class features depending on how tough your DM is. With Pact violation you don't lose spells, you've learned those. You will lose your pact slots (they are essentially 'on loan' from the patron) & your pact weapon/tome/chain won't work (at best) or may harm you (depending on your patron.) invocations are also likely to go awry.
Of course, if your deity is ok with you also working for a specific patron, you don't have to worry about it. Good deities are generally ok with celestial pacts, but an infernal they're likely to judge a breach of faith.
On the other hand, if you go around goody-goody while you hold a fiend pact, things can get much worse especially if the contract is with a devil. "...a contract with even the lowliest devil is enforced by Asmodius's will. Any mortal creature that breaks such a contract instantly forfeits its soul, which is spirited away to the Nine Hells." -Monster Manual p.66
You may want to take a look at this YouTube video by TreantMonk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeTYXJNzbqM
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
It would be a balance to manage if not for the fact that his Oath isn't a traditional one in any aspect of the word, nor is his Pact. He's only a Paladin because he got into some hot water by killing a knight, and the knight's goddess wasn't about to let him get off the hook. She is the goddess of justice, after all. He's essentially held at gunpoint and forced to take the oath as punishment or he'll quite literally be struck dead. Being a massive coward who isn't trying to reap the consequences of his actions quite this soon, he takes the deal hoping he can get out of it pretty easily. But he can't. He's a chaotic evil character being forced to play as a lawful neutral one. So he doesn't lose his spells when he breaks his oath, because that's not really the goal of him being in the oath in the first place, so much as he's struck with searing pain and held on the threat of death. He either uses his power for good or he dies. Thankfully, he and his goddess are both equally stubborn and ridiculous about the whole thing, so he keeps trying to find loopholes and she keeps punishing him and giving him second chances because killing him would be too easy. Plus she sees him as more of a pet project as they get to know each other. She'll make him be good and he'll like it, in her mind. And he followers her orders like a begrudging, rebellious teen who's been asked to do chores otherwise he gets grounded. They're at a push and pull, so the mechanics change a little.
In terms of his pact, he's essentially allowed to do it by her as a sign of good faith. The plan is that he proves he'll cooperate to an extent and she'll let him have demon magic as long as he doesn't abuse it. The demon he gets it from owes her a favor (probably for not killing him, as that seems to be her style) and so he doesn't really have to do anything his patron says because at the end of the day, the patron and the magic coming from his warlock levels is still coming from her and she can cut him off at any time.
As they say: the lord giveth, the lord taketh away.... or just kills you if you break your oath.
It's sort of a complicated, detailed story and I'd never even consider playing him if I didn't think the DM was willing to put up with the gimmick. But trust me, I've got the lore and roleplay aspects down and accounted for.
TL;DR: He can't have a crisis of faith because his oath isn't coming from a place of faith to begin with, and the pact magic is a gift from his god, given to him by a friend of hers, so there's no conflicting goals coming from his patrons. Just from him being the absolute Worst.