D&D 5E Thoughts on Tier 3-4 Satyr martial in Vecna: Eve of Ruin

[Willie the Duck]

So one of the rotating DMs for my Saturday D&D group has decided to try running V:EoR. This is the first foray into tiers 3-4 for this group in a long, long time.

I've avoided spoilers, so I do not know the plot, or much else (other than start at level 9). I have been given leave to ask the community basic questions along the lines of 'are there no magic items?*,' 'will acquiring spells from found spellbooks be a thing?,' etc.
*and thus figure out how to hit monsters that require magic weapons.

There will be four players, myself included. We already have a Fairy Rogue (Swashbuckler) and Tiefling Sorcerer (Divine Soul), and one other undecided. I am thinking of being a fighty-type, but not exactly sure what. Since no one has played one yet, I'm going to try a satyr. Here are some ideas I'm considering, feel free to comment on them or suggest ideas of your own. The first goal is fun, but I suspect that will happen regardless (and being a satyr warrior probably will swamp most everything else). Anyways, --

• Fighter (Rune Knight) 9 - One of the fighter sub-types best for going all the way up. The passive effects of the runes help with some OOC ability. Enhancing Grapple and Runic Shield are good team-player abilities. Between Spell resistance and the ASI free for resilience:wis, the high-level effect defense will be acceptable. I suspect no one else is going to be competing with me for any gauntlets/belts of Str, so other ASIs could generally go to combat boosts or even party-benefit effects like Healer or Skill Expert.
• Paladin (Crown) 9 - Normally I default to Vengeance Paladin if I don't have a thematic reason to do something else. However, 9th level is right when Aura of Vitality and Spirit Guardians come online. The utility of both are quite high. Likewise, just getting a paladin up to Improved Divine Smite and maybe even Find Greater Steed levels sounds thrilling. The downside is if there are a lot of ranged fights, and I'd want to know if there are a bunch of really cool non-polearm magic weapons to be had, such that PAM (which works really well with Improved Divine Smite) would be inadvisable.
• Paladin(vengeance) 6 / Warlock (Hexblade, bladelock) 3 - a straightforward build for Cha-for-everything and only taking paladin to level 6. Solves the ranged issue with Eldritch Blast and means I can pick up the magic sword or bow* or glaive or whatever the adventure throws at us just fine. Decent paladin support and slowly advancing arcane support (fly by level 12, for instance) *with improved pact weapon
• Warlock (Fiend, bladelock) 9 or Fighter 1/Warlock (Fiend, bladelock) 8 - Could start with a fighter and wear plate (with defensive FS) and need to take resilient:wis*. Otherwise could take Moderately Armored and Resilient:Con and advance as pure bladelock. Actually taking a bladelock to 5th level spells (or even 3 spells/sr) range would be a new and exciting concept (and since the current party caster is holding up both arcane and divine roles, being able to take the odd OOC spell might be really helpful). *Although maybe spell resistance and Dark One's Own Luck are sufficient defense against high-level Wis-save stuff
• Fighter (Battlemaster) 3 / Warlock (Fiend, bladelock) 6 - Battlemaster is significantly more front-loaded than rune knight (the additional maneuvers you pick up at 7,10,15 are just the ones you passed over at 3), so a 3-level dip would be perfectly reasonable. I'd only have one ASI and would be tempted to take resilient:wis*, which saves the Wis save, but otherwise isn't as beneficial as resilient:con is for the pure warlock. Getting two L3 spells, on action surge, on second wind, and 4 superiority dice are a significant number of tricks to throw out every SR. I'm just unclear if it is a lot of complexity that ends up being less effective than a pure 9 levels of something straightforward. *Although again maybe spell resistance and Dark One's Own Luck are sufficient defense against high-level Wis-save stuff

I'm picturing this character as a bit of a dim party-animal, maybe a little like the Jaegers of Girl Genius. Depending on whether I go Cha-based class or not, they can either be a real charmer, or only think they are. If I go fiendlock, I have this idea about how they got associated with a demon (something along the lines of 'the devil just really liked the whole hooves, horns, and goatee thing they had going on').

Any thoughts on the concepts? Other suggestions? Since I have permission, based on the module treasure, is there any reason to specifically choose Str- over Dex- martial builds, or not to dedicate oneself to PAM or GWM builds or otherwise hem oneself in?

More generally, how much luck have people had with complex multiclass martials going into the high levels compared to just taking barbarian/fighter/paladin/ranger/bladelock* 1-20? Are the gimmick advantages worth the delays in ASIs and upper tier abilities and the like?
*or maybe Figher1/bladelock, given known issues.

Thanks for any insight!

 

[J-H]

If it were me (and it's not) I'd go single class fighter because how often do you actually get to play a Fighter 20 and attack 16 times in 2 rounds?

 

[Kobold Stew]

The Rune Knight or the Paladin sound the most interesting to me -- nothing in what you've written suggests Bladelock is there for story reasons.

I would choose The Rune Knight -- a 12' tall satyr swinging an axe would be terrifying and loads of fun -- but the Fairy (and maybe the unknown character) would appreciate a Paladin's Aura of Protection.

 

[Willie the Duck]

If it were me (and it's not) I'd go single class fighter because how often do you actually get to play a Fighter 20 and attack 16 times in 2 rounds?

I am thinking something like that. I would be fun to see.

The Rune Knight or the Paladin sound the most interesting to me -- nothing in what you've written suggests Bladelock is there for story reasons.

I... it's literally the only one I included any character development on! What's my story reason on the paladin or rune knight?

I would choose The Rune Knight -- a 12' tall satyr swinging an axe would be terrifying and loads of fun -- but the Fairy (and maybe the unknown character) would appreciate a Paladin's Aura of Protection.

Fairy never stays put within 10'. They are notorious on that kind of thing.

Overall, I think rune knight is what's seeming fun. Thanks all!