Paladin or Warlock?

[Alexomenos]

I've spent hours trying to figure out what class to play and I've narrowed it down to Oath of the ancients paladin or archfey warlock. They can both talk to animals and benefit from charisma (is it really a cRPG if you don't talk your way out of every bad situation?), but I can't seem to decide between them and Multiclass means no access to the really powerful spells at level 12.
As I see it, paladin has the benefit of casting more often (warlock only gets two spells per fight) but warlock might fit better with the characters I want in my party (Karlach, shadowheart and Gale at the start, but swap Gale for Minsc later). Also, warlock doesn't have to uphold an oath, but I like being a utilitarian hero, so I don't think I'll break an oath regardless.
Help me out here.

[Gloomseeker]

You can go Warlock 5 then Paladin 7. All you need is Charisma and Constitution since by Warlock level 3 you will use Charisma for spellcasting and attacks with your Pact weapon.

if you want heavy armour you should start as Paladin though (or respec at level 6 in which case you can move around points between Strength and Charisma since you won't be needing Strength once you get Warlock 3).

Warlock 5 Pact of the Blade adds an extra attack which stacks with the extra attack Paladins get at level 5. Getting more attacks can only be a good thing.

Alternatively you could go Warlock 3 and Paladin 9 or Warlock 10 and Paladin 2.

Lore wise both classes mesh pretty well so there's that.

EDIT: Oath of the Ancients Paladin get Aura of Warding at level 7 which reduces magical damage by half.

[avaririot]

I got pallylock Wyll at Warock 3/Paladin 1 and he's already the party tank.

[Dank Sidious]

Why not both?

Pact of the blade warlock + Paladin has some amazing synergy

[Kernest]

I don't know that Warlock is a better fit for your team.

Basically, Warlocks are built around short rests, everyone else in that team is built around long rests.

Paladins restore 1 resource on short rest, IIRC, but other than that, function around long rests like the rest of the civilized DnD classes.

I myself am running a College of Swords Bard that since level 5 has cared more about short resting to recover bardic inspirations than having spell slots

Or maybe it's better to have one character in a team built around short rests, who knows. I just go by rule of cool most of the time.

[Soul]

just go try both and use withers to reclass to your perfect pick once you got a feel for what is right for you.

[dbond1]

I'm a custom human warlock main. I usually roll a ranger sort of character, but with BG3 I thought I'd mix it up so far I really like it. I don't care if my quiver only has a few arrows. They all hit hard and since warlocks refresh on short rest the warlock is always locked and loaded.

And let's face it, having a wide range of skills and spells isn't all it is cracked up to be since you'll probably just roll with a few of the best anyway.

With so many precarious ledges in the battle maps, Eldritch Blast is fantastic. Does good damage, but better yet it flings enemies off heights. That's more damage and a form of crowd control in one.

Cloud of daggers is great for controlling chokepoints, and fireball rolls 8 six-sided dice for an AoE attack and yeah, that wrecks. Eldritch Blast is a cantrip of course so you have unlimited uses.

I'm digging the warlock class. And since it's high Charisma it aces most conversations and speech checks. Throw Actor feat on and you are a silvery tongued dealer of death and displacement.

[buttawise]

Paladin is the best because you don't have to think just choose Paladin choices and be nice to everyone.

[Dank Sidious]

Originally posted by Kernest:

I don't know that Warlock is a better fit for your team.

Basically, Warlocks are built around short rests, everyone else in that team is built around long rests.

Paladins restore 1 resource on short rest, IIRC, but other than that, function around long rests like the rest of the civilized DnD classes.

I myself am running a College of Swords Bard that since level 5 has cared more about short resting to recover bardic inspirations than having spell slots

MFW Battlemaster is not a civilzed class.
https://i.imgur.com/8El22yE.jpeg

[WeenerTuck813]

Tbh going warlock to 4 then Sorc the rest of the way is suuuuuper strong. I did that with Wyll and he absolutely destroyed things

[Lucifer69]

Originally posted by WeenerTuck813:

Tbh going warlock to 4 then Sorc the rest of the way is suuuuuper strong. I did that with Wyll and he absolutely destroyed things

Sorcerer doesn't need multiclass to be strong. Just pure sorcerer and once you get metamagic for quicken abuse enjoy. You'll end entire fights against multiple enemies in a single turn.