Does anyone have any thoughts on the progression that I should take for this type of character?
I'm wanting to pick up Find Steed, so Paladin 5 is a must; it gives me Extra Attack, while 3rd level Warlock is a must for the Curse Bringer (which I want to go for), and so I'm trying to work out what my best progression would be. Trying to equate these two together suggests that it doesn't play nicely at all until 8th level, when I have both Extra Attack and Curse Bringer, but trying to work out how to start off sucks. I also want to try and bring Resilient (Con) and Alert into it somewhere to make up for my poor Dex, so I guess I'm a human. Intending to use Armour of Agathys a lot to help with Damage Output.
DM has added a bonus rule of allowing us to use Cantrips or make a single Attack as a Bonus Action, because apparently his previous games didn't have many people with uses for Bonus Actions (newbies); the only exception is that the Bonus Action cannot benefit from Ability Modifiers to Damage (so no Agonizing Blast etc on the Bonus Action Cantrip).
Paladin 1/Warlock 1 sucks; all I have is my Curse and Lay On Hands. I can always Eldritch Blast, Curse and Hex/Smite spell to deal burst damage, I suppose, but that encourages me to focus on Charisma more than Strength, when I'd ideally spend more time focusing on the obvious Str Bonus. But from there, where do I go; Warlock 2-3 for the Invocation, Curse Bringer and 2nd level spells, or Paladin 2-3 for the Fighting Style and Smite (given that I pick up Smite with Curse Bringer without having to use Concentration Spells). I placed Paladin first, because they're essentially exactly the same, but is there a reason I should choose Warlock 1/Paladin 1?
Paladin 2; I get the ability to smite without needing to prepare crap like the Smite spells, and a Fighting Style (GWF, if it's not obvious enough) - but I lose the Curse, Hex, and ranged ability. Also means I lose Armour of Agathys until 3rd level when I can pick it up through Warlock or Paladin 3. I'll also have much higher HP, but with only a single level of AoA that's nullified and reduces my damage output.
Warlock 2; I get to Hexblade 3 sooner for Curse Bringer, but with only 2 Spell Slots and a desire to make use of Armour of Agathys to boost my HP, that's only a single Smite/combat, and is going to further delay access to me being able to Find Steed.
So, in your esteemed opinions guys, what do you think is the best way to do this? Or am I starting at too low a level to really make use of it, and may be slacking behind.
For reference, rolled stats, although I can do a 27point buy; my rolled stats came up awesome though; 18 Str, 16 Dex, 17 Con, 14 Int, 15 Wis, 18 Cha; 3d6b1+6 rocks.
