D&D 5E Advice wanted: Paladin/Hexblade/Bard build

UPDATE: Post re-formatted and changed to reflect some big changes

Hey everyone,

I have an idea for a paladin/hexblade (and possibly bard) build and would like some advice
I am thinking of going with Mounted Combatant feat along with a lance and a shield using CHA as my attack modifier using hexblade. I am also thinking of mixing some bard in to get more juice out of the CHA modifier

We rolled stats and here is what I rolled: 7,8,13,13,16,16

Races: since this is a homebrew world with some resrictions on races my top race choices are probably: Human (Variant) or Changeling (from UA) to get the extra CHA bonus.
I think Human has the upper hand here thanks to the extra feat

Stats I think are most opitmal:
STR: 13 (to allow Paladin multiclass)
DEX: (13+1)14
CON: 16
INT: 8
WIS: 7
CHA: (16+1)17

Level Plan:
Level 1: Paladin (Vengeance)
Level 2: Warlock (Hexblade)
Level 3-7: Paladin
Level 8-11: Bard (Valor of Swords)
(ASI at level 5: CHA + 2)
(Level 11 ASI possibly a feat that grants +1 to CHA)

Class notes:
The Warlock (Hexblade) will let me use my CHA modifier for both the longsword and lance since they both lack the "two-handed" feature. I am not sure if additional levels in the class will be much benefitial for me
6 Levels in Paladin gets me Extra Attack, Find Steed spell, and Aura of Protection
Paladin fighting style will need to be defense if I am going to bard which will later let me grab dueling and increase my damage

Since I am going to be mounted most of the time (after level 6) I was thinking of going with plate armor (when available - probably not before level 6 anyway) even though my STR doesn't support it, it will reduce me speed by 10 but since my steed does all the walking for me it doesn't affect me.

Gear:
Armor - best heavy armor available at the moment + shield
Weapons -
Lance, when mounted it will give me the extra reach and good damage
Longsword, for the rare times when I will not be mounted or mounted in small corridors where the reach doesn't help
EB, Not actually gear but makes up for the lack of ranged weapons


Spells:
One of my 2nd level paladin spells will go every day towards the Find Steed spell to keep him up and running
I am planning on using the warlock spell slots for either hex or Hunter's Mark, which will require concentration, or smites. The concentration might be a problem until I gain level 6 Paladin Aura of protection


Some Notes / Concerns:
* Placing Hex or Hunter's Mark on my targets will require concecration, with +3 to con I am not sure if I'll be able to keep it up much, at least I get the Aura of Protection on level 7 which will boost the roll bonus to +7
* Mounted Combatant seems very powerful with polearm mastery, but since Hexblade required a non "Two Handed" weapon I think lance might be a good replacement, the problem is that it doesn't work with Polearm Mastery feat, I do not know how viable it is to be on a mount with Mounted Combatant without the 2nd feat so a different feat might be more helpful to the build
* In my current plan I will lose out on 1 ASI
* Bard seems like a good edition with its blade flourishes and other strong effect i can get by level 4 but it might be over-doing it and going with more warlock/palading could be a better option

Any advice will be welcomed!

Since you are a caster, I would take Resilient (Con) as your variant human feat. Starting stats: 16/13/13/7/8/16. Con save proficiency is worth the 1 hp/level you give up by starting Con at 14 vs. 16. This way you don't have to worry about being slowed by plate armor.

I normally wouldn't suggest this but your stat rolls might make your character a fair candidate for a regular human with +1 across the board.
14/14/17/8/9/17
No first level feat, but at Paladin 4 you could go Str +1/Cha +1 and have your 18 Cha and the 15 Str needed to wear plate armor without a movement penalty. I don't know your DM obviously but most I know wouldn't feel any obligation to make Gauntlets of Ogre Power available just to help you complete your build and wear plate armor. And you could still take Resilient(Con) later on to round out that Con stat.

FWIW, I used the standard array for my variant human Vengeance Paladin 5/ Hexblade 1: 14/12/13/8/10/15. After racial bonuses and the Resilient (Con) feat, I had 15/12/14/8/10/16 as my starting stats.

I edited the first post to reflect more of the idea I had in mind

I am still not sure about the Resilent(Con) it's a very good feat but at as soon as I get Aura of Protection I am not sure how strong it will be.

I am thinking of going with a mount (and possibly Mounted Combatant feat). it will enable me to overcome the slowness of my armor at higher levels when I actually do get the full plate.
The paladin allows me to cast Find Steed and have a good warhorse that can move twice my speed without lowering my AC
This will allow me to have at level 7: 20AC (Full Plate + Shield) and a speed of 60ft thanks to the steed, while I still max out both my HP and CHA.

How often do you get to roll for concentration and have the Resilent help you more than a +4 (Aura of Protection) would?

MunchkinBoomer said:

I am still not sure about the Resilent(Con) it's a very good feat but at as soon as I get Aura of Protection I am not sure how strong it will be.

How often do you get to roll for concentration and have the Resilent help you more than a +4 (Aura of Protection) would?

Click to expand...

It will always help. The Aura gives a bonus to all saves. The bonus is equal to your Cha mod. So at level 7 when the Aura comes online for you, your concentration save will be Con mod + Proficiency Bonus + Cha mod, or 2+3+4=9 (using the stats from my example above). You will auto-save any concentration save unless the damage you took was 22 or higher. By level 10, assuming you go Paladin 6/Hexblade 4 and raise your cha to 20, the bonus will be +11 to all Con saves. Without the feat it would just be Con+Cha.

Basically, once you get Aura, you look at all of your saves, including Cha, and just add your Cha mod and that's your new save bonus for each one. It's a sweet level 6 ability, probably the best any class gets at 6.

Volund said:

It will always help. The Aura gives a bonus to all saves. The bonus is equal to your Cha mod. So at level 7 when the Aura comes online for you, your concentration save will be Con mod + Proficiency Bonus + Cha mod, or 2+3+4=9 (using the stats from my example above). You will auto-save any concentration save unless the damage you took was 22 or higher. By level 10, assuming you go Paladin 6/Hexblade 4 and raise your cha to 20, the bonus will be +11 to all Con saves. Without the feat it would just be Con+Cha.

Basically, once you get Aura, you look at all of your saves, including Cha, and just add your Cha mod and that's your new save bonus for each one. It's a sweet level 6 ability, probably the best any class gets at 6.

Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying, I know it's a good feat but I'm not sure how helpful it actually is in low levels.
Maybe taking War Caster at level 1 to give me advantage on the concentration checks would be more helpful than the added +Prof.Bonus