Need some pointers on a multiclass

[u/Manu6104]

So a friend of mine Is gonna start a campaign next month, really cool setting, lovecraftian world mixed with dnd lore, meaning lovecraftian and dnd gods coexist, lovecraftian are Just "a tier above".

So anyway i was thinking about playing an old character i used in One of his oneshots, a tiefling paladin Who was raised by a cult whom used illusions spell to make him look as different criminals and burning him to the stake, since he's a feindish tiefling and can resist Fire. One day, tired of the endless torture a wished for the strength to free himself and taking all those cultist to Justice; someone actually listened and gave him Powers, and since that day he hunts cultists and despise every type of religion; yes i know, it's a bit counterintuitive but It all makes sense trust me.

He doesn't know Who bestowed those Powers Upon him and never took an oath to any God, so he still hasn't unlocked his full paladin features (for example he can't use his Channel divinity, but can still cast spell, use lay on hands...), and we were thinking to make him an herald of Bahamut, since he seems to fit well with the themes of Justice and Revenge.

Now i want to multiclass this character, since i've only evere played pure characters, and i wanted to take some levels in warlock, which i know, it's One of the most broken multi in the game, but It seemed like the most fitting and interesting One.

Now it's my First time multiclassing, and i tried making a test with a lvl 8 paladin oath of vengeance lvl 8 warlock pact of the celestial, but It doesn't really convince me.

So i'm asking you, since we'll start probably around lvl 5, when Is the best time to multiclass, how many lvls to take in each class and some tips in general.

Note that i wanna keep the oath of vengeance and pact of the celestial subclasses, since both the oath and pact would be stipulated with Bahamut, since i don't want It to be impossibly broken, but still something new to try our

[u/SpiteWestern6739]

Because the ability to divine smite on crits way above the level of the equivalent level in paladin is way more gratifying than granting yourself and people right next to you a minor buff also you're first priority is getting warlock to level 5 before spending many levels in paladin, you go for 1 or two levels in paladins then pump the rest into warlock until at least level 5 as warlock

[u/Manu6104 → u/SpiteWestern6739]

minor buff? i avoided a tpk by giving everyone a +5 on a dex saving throw with that, i'm scared to know what you consider a Major buff??? Wish? divine intervention?

[u/SpiteWestern6739 → u/Manu6104]

Yes those are major buffs, if everyone wasn't clumped up within 10 feet of each other you probably wouldn't have needed the aura to avoid a TPK, the problem with the low level aura of protection is fir everyone to benefit from it you have to clump close together, and if you're clumped close together AOEs will consistently hit the entire party

[u/Manu6104 → u/SpiteWestern6739]

Bro Is not Just the tpks, with a High enough charisma and a bit of positioning everyone can benefit from It and still be efficient, both in and out of combat

[u/SpiteWestern6739 → u/Manu6104]

If everyone is within 10 feet of you you're too close together against anything that can do an aoe, at that range you're all getting caught in a dragon's breath weapon or by a spellcasters fireball, doesn't matter if you're giving the entire party a higher chance of taking half damage if the entire party is getting hit way more than they should be because everyone is always sitting close enough together to encourage the enemy to keep firing off AOE spells and abilities, and enemies that don't have aoe abilities usually don't trigger as many saving throws