Sorcadin - Sorcerer Paladin build - Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3)

Sorcadin Build - Paladin and Sorcerer

Sorcadin is a multiclass between Sorcerer and Paladin classes. Why would you go this way? It allows you to have a larger number and stronger spell slots to release much stronger smites. Sorcerer also gives multiple options for spells from the Wizard spell list, a very powerful is Shield that can make you almost invulnerable to normal attacks

We also are able to use the Sorcery Points to restore spell slots or create higher-level ones for even more powerful Smites. Not only that, but Sorcerers have a unique feature called metamagic, that allows consuming Sorcery Points for multiple spell uses, longer duration, etc.

We also get all the benefits from the Paladin - healing spells, auras, heavy armor proficiency, and much more. In reality, you create a nuking version of a normal Paladin that can freely use Smites even through the longest encounters.

Multiclass options

Going for Sorcadin multiclass also gives multiple options on how to spread the different class levels. Here are what they are best at:

• Lv 6 Paladin and Lv 6 Sorcerer - an optimal option if you wish to get the Paladin's Aura of Protection. It gives a bonus to saving throws based on the Charisma modifier. You also get level 6 sorcerer subclass bonuses like Elemental affinity or Heart of Storm. I think it works with any Paladin subclass
• Lv 5 Paladin and Lv 7 Sorcerer - This option is perfect if you would like to lean a bit more into spells. It unlocks level 4 spells and gives 3 level 4 spell slots and 1 level 5. Your smites will be extremely powerful. As a downside, you do not get any Auras from Paladin class
• Lv 7 Paladin and Lv 5 Sorcerer - this option gives Paladin Subclassess auras and unlocks 2 level 4 spell slots. Unfortunately, you do not unlock level 5 spells (you still get a chance to pick Haste) with this option and do not gain any Sorcerer subclass features. This is a good option for Oathbreaker Paladin and Oath of the Ancients Paladin as they have good auras at level 7
• etc.

As you see there are many options. Generally, you want at least a level 5 Paladin for Extra Attack, then it becomes a discussion on what auras you need. Going more with sorcerer gives a higher level of spell slots, which means your smites do higher damage. You also get more sorcery points allowing you to cast more spells with bonus action.

What weapons to use

The Sorcadin can go with both Two-Handed Weapon and One-Handed Weapon + Shield. I have not tried dual-wielding yet. Going Two-handed gives unparalleled damage at the cost of Armour Class. Your critical hits also do much more damage if you are using something like a great axe with a 1d12 damage roll

Going with a shield is a more defensive option and you will be sacrificing some damage. However, you get a +2 Armour Class. Pair this with Shield of Faith and Shield spells making you almost invulnerable.

Short overview

This is a short overview and progression of the build. Use it to get a quick glance if you want to pick the best options without going deep into the explanations. A more detailed description with texts, suggestions, and improvements can be found in the next sections. Here is a recommendation for Level 6 Sorcerer and Level 6 Paladin multiclass

Sorcadin Leveling Overview

Level	Category	Choice
1	Abilities	Str 16(15+1), Dex 10, Con 14 (13+1), Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 16 (14+2)
	Class	Paladin 1
	Subclass	Oath of Vengeance
	Skills	Athletics, Acrobatics, Intimidation, Persuasion
2	Class	Paladin 2
	Fighting Style	Great Weapon Fighting or Duelling
3	Class	Paladin 3
4	Class	Paladin 4
	Feat	Great Weapon Master or Ability Improvement - +2 Strength
5	Class	Paladin 5
6	Class	Sorcerer 1
	Cantrips	Friends, Fire Bolt, Light, Minor Illusion
	Spells	Thunderwave, Shield
	Subclass	Draconic Bloodline
	Dragon Ancestor	Draconic Ancestry: White (Cold)
7	Class	Sorcerer 2
	Spells	Enhance Leap
	Class Passives	Metamagic: Twinned Spell, Metamagic: Extended Spell
8	Class	Sorcerer 3
	Spells	Scorching Ray
	Class Passives	Metamagic: Quickened Spell
9	Class	Paladin 6
10	Class	Sorcerer 4
	Cantrips	Bone Chill
	Spells	Mirror Image
	Feat	Savage Attacker or  Polearm Mastery
11	Class	Sorcerer 5
	Spells	Counterspell
	Replace Spell	Haste
12	Class	Sorcerer 6
	Spells	Fireball

Starting the Game

We start with the early game. I would go into what are the best Races, Abilities, and Skills for Sorcerer Paladins. Some of these choices are impactful as you cannot respec them.

Races

Picking a race provides various benefits - abilities, dialogue options, looks, etc. Because Paladin gets Heavy Armor proficiency you have many more options on what to choose.

Race	Features	Description
Zariel Tiefling	Darkvision - Grant a creature the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12m. Hellish Resistance - Your blood protects you from flame, abyssal or otherwise. You have resistance to Fire and take only half damage from it. Thaumaturgy - gain Advantage on Intimidation and Performance Checks.	Probably the most Paladinish option as it comes with additional Smites - Fire. Of course, they are not as good but may have their uses. Also, they have good fire resistance
Half-Orc	Darkvision - Grant a creature the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12m. Relentless Endurance - when you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest. Savage Attacks - when you land a Critical Hit with a melee weapon attack, your damage dice are tripled instead of doubled	Half-Orcs really shine as Paladins. They can resurrect in case they die and get an additional die roll on a critical hit. This gives a big damage boost if you are using something like Polearm or Greataxe.
Wood Half-Elf	Fleet of Foot - your base walking speed is 10.5 meters. Darkvision - Grant a creature the ability to see in the dark out to a range of 12m. Civil Militia - you have weapon proficiency with Spears, Pikes, Halberds, and Glaives, and Armour Proficiency with Light Armour and Shield Fey Ancestry - The Fey wild casts a veil over your mind. You have Advantage on saving throws against being Charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep.	What makes these special is their increased moving distance. I think this is valuable as once you start taking out enemies one by one with Smites, this will prove advantageous. Overall the same applies to Wood Elf.

Class

Overview
Paladin
Features
Lay on Hands	Use your blessed touch to heal a creature or cure it of all diseases and poisons.
Divine Sense	Gain Advantage on Attack Rolls against celestials, fiends, and undead.
Channel Oath Charges	You gain the ability to channel the power contained in your Paladin Oath, which you can use to fuel certain actions.

Subclass

For the Sorcadin build we can go with any Paladin class. Each of them provides different bonuses. If you plan on going to Level 6 Paladin I suggest Oath of Vengeance. It has Misty Step and Hold Person, two very good spells. On the other hand, for level 7 Paladin I would go with Oathbreaker to get the bonus damage from Aura of Hate.

So in my case, I will go with Oath of Vengeance:

Overview
Oath of Vengeance
Features
Inquisitor's Might	You or an ally's weapon attacks deal additional Radiant damage equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) and can Daze enemies for 2 turns.
Oath of Vengeance Tenets	Oath of Vengeance paladins abide by the following tenets: Fight the Greater Evil. Exerting your wisdom, identify the higher morality in any given instance, and fight for it. No Mercy for the Wicked. Chasten those who dole out their villainy by wiping their blight from the world forever.

Abilities

Now let's take a look at the abilities of the Sorcadin build. Correct allocation will allow us to maximize the early gameplay and get good modifier bonuses.

Ability	Value	Description
Strength	16 (15+1)	The main melee weapon damage ability. So we should not skip it
Dexterity	10	Dexterity is a debatable stat. Because Paladin uses Heavy Armor, we do not need much (as it does not give bonuses to Armor Class). However, we also do not want to have low initiative and be last, when you may get knocked out. So I recommend this middle ground, and in the later game, some items will give bonuses to initiative/dexterity
Constitution	14 (13 +1)	Important stat for any build gives bonus HP and improves the success of Constitution Saving Throws, which ensures your Concentration spells don't break.
Intelligence	8	Not really important stat for us
Wisdom	10	We get 10, to not get any negative modifier for Wisdom Saving Throws, as there are many of them.
Charisma	16 (14+2)	The main spellcasting ability of the Paladin. It also affects the power of Auras.

Skills and Expertise

Overall, the skills should be impacted by your roleplaying and background decisions. However, you would still want those that will give you the best benefits. My recommendations are to pick those at which you have a high ability modifier:

• Athletics
• Persuasion
• Intimidation

Detailed Leveling Progression

Here is the detailed progression for the build to get you started. You can use it as a guideline because early games can be daunting and overwhelming. Later on, once you get the feel for the class you can start picking your own options

Level 2

At level 2 we unlock the most famous Paladin action - Divine Smite. Moreover, we obtain 2 level 1 spell slots.

Actions	Description
Divine Smite	This Paladin-specific feature gives +2d8 Radiant Damage and an additional 1d8 against undead and fiends. it expends a spell slot if hits. Using higher-level spell slots deals more damage. Note, its damage does not depend on Charisma but spell level. Oathbreaker also gets a special "red" animation

Fighting Style

Here you can pick a style that fits your weapon usage or playstyle. For example, going with a shield and a one-handed weapon would benefit from Duelling. Want to go for very high damage, take Two-handed weapons and pick Great Weapon Fighting.

Style	Description
Great Weapon Fighting	When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack with a two-handed melee weapon, that die is rerolled once.
Duelling	When you wear one one-handed weapon or weapon and shield, gain a bonus of 2 damage.

I do not really find Protection useful. It requires you to stay near allies and activates conditionally. I prefer permanent bonuses.

Prepared Spells

Paladin level 1 spells are okay. They do not provide any crazy bonuses but can work in some situations. Here are my recommendations for what is good to have in your arsenal

Spell	Description
Thunderous Smite	A smite alternative that deals Thunder damage and can make enemy prone. I would use it in case you have a free bonus action that you do not plan on using. Otherwise, use normal Smite.
Shield of Faith	It gives a +2 Armour Class as long as you can maintain concentration. Lasts until a long rest.
Searing Smite	An alternative Smite that you can use against enemies vulnerable to fire. Otherwise, it does not have any usefulness
Command	Can command the creature to drop a weapon, run away, come close, etc. Can be useful in some encounters, especially against low Wisdom enemies.

For other slots pick what you want.

Level 3

Level 3 Paladin gains a lot of new things - new actions, class, subclass features, and spells. However, I do not think that these are very powerful boons, we will have to wait for better actions

Feature	Description
Divine Health	Get additional temporary hit points. The spell can be cast without using spell slots. May not be as potent, because you already have Armour of Agathys spell.

We also gain subclass-specific actions. These use Channel Oath Charge, which means that your spell slots will not be expended when used.

Action	Description
Abjure Enemy	Frighten an enemy. They'll be easier to hit and cannot move. Fiends and undead have Disadvantages on this Saving Throw.
Vow of Enmity	Gain Advantage on Attack Rolls against an enemy. This is perfect when you are fighting a single strong enemy. It only uses bonus action meaning you can also attack in the same turn. Match this together with Great Weapon Master for a huge damage bonus without any downsides.

In addition, we get subclass-specific spells:

Spells	Description
Bane	Up to 3 creatures receive a -1d4 penalty to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws. Unfortunately, I do not use it much as this takes up a Concentration slot
Hunter's Mark	Similar spell to Hex, but deals physical damage and does not provide any negative effects. Takes up a Concentration slot

Level 4

We finally unlock our first Feat which will greatly improve the overall performance of Oathbreaker Paladin. Moreover, another Lay on Hands Charge is added, for more healing actions. So let's deep dive:

Feat

Feat	Description
Great Weapon Master	If you are going with two-handed weapons this feat is mandatory. First, it gives an additional hit with bonus action if you kill a foe or get a critical hit. Second, you can sacrifice attack rolls to boost your damage. This is perfect when you have an Advantage.
Ability Improvement	Another option is going for +2 Strength. This will give higher weapon damage and higher attack rolls. A perfect option for shield users.

Level 5

Finally, level 2 spells are unlocked, new Oath spells and we get the Paladin class feature - Extra Attack.

Feature	Description
Extra Attack	Can make an additional free attack after making an unarmed or weapon attack. This will make you much more powerful in combat

Oath of Vengeance bonus spells are very good for Level 5:

Spell	Description
Misty Step	An excellent spell to have in the arsenal. You can now leave or enter the battlefield in the best possible position. Moreover, it only costs bonus action.
Hold Person	This is a good concentration spell that can remove a single target from the equation. Try to target enemies with low Wisdom. Then follow up with rogue or fighter to deal critical hits from 3 meters. Once you get Metamagic: Quickened Spell, you can cast this and deal a guaranteed critical hit in the same turn

Prepared Spells

As level 2 spells are unlocked here are some considerations to include in your build:

Spell	Description
Lesser Restoration	Can heal disease, poison, paralysis, and some other negative effects. Not mandatory, but good to have if the situation arises.
Magic Weapon	This spell can empower your weapons with bonus damage rolls and attack rolls. The higher the spell slot you use the bigger the bonus. Another thing is that the bonus may seem low, but it will greatly boost your success on hitting while having Great Weapon Master active.
Branding Smite	The only smite that can be used with Ranged Weapons in Paladin's arsenal. Otherwise, nothing special, it may be useful in a few encounters during Act 2.

Level 6 - Sorcorer Lv 1

This is the first level when I recommend multiclassing to Sorcerer. We really wanted that Extra Attack feature as in theory it doubles the damage output of Sorcadin. Now we are ready to improve the build with the Sorcerer class

Class

Overview
Sorcerer
Sorcerers are natural spellcasters, drawing on inherent magic from a gift or bloodline.

Cantrips

Taking the Sorcerer class gives some really useful cantrips especially outside of combat. Here are my recommendations:

Cantrips	Description
Friends	A very valuable cantrip for dialogues. Gives an advantage to dice rolls when interacting with non-aggressive creatures.
Fire Bolt	I recommend having this cantrip as it can be useful for setting this on fire - barrels, oil, etc.
Light	Imbue an object with light. Can be useful if you do not have Darkvision in very dark places. Useful in Act 2
Minor Illusion	Use this spell to distract NPCs or foes. Can be used from stealth before entering combat. Once the enemies are in one place, you can use an Area of effect spell or something like Thunderwave to knock them down.

Spells

As a Sorcerer, we are also able to pick level 1 spells. Here are my recommendations for the first two

Spell	Description
Thunderwave	You can use this spell to throw enemies from ledges. It can be extremely useful in some cases, so I recommend having it
Shield	This is a very powerful spell that can be used with a level 1 spell. It increases your Armour Class by 5 for the turn. This means you can avoid most of the attacks, especially if you have a shield equipped.

Subclass

Generally, going with any Sorcerer subclass is a good option. each of them offers something unique and works in different approaches. Here is a short overview of what each does best:

• Wild Magic - gain Tides of Chaos reaction that allows you to gain advantage on Attack, Ability Rolls, and Saving Throws. It works once per short rest. Moreover, you get access to Wild Magic, which can create some beneficial effects at the correct dice roll.
• Draconic Bloodline - gives bonus HP, meaning higher survivability. Moreover, you gain bonus elemental resistances and spells based on selected bloodlines.
• Storm Sorcery - gives bonus mobility via the Tempestuous Magic feature. You can fly after casting a spell. Unfortunately, this does not work with Divine Smite but works with other Smites.

I personally prefer Draconic Bloodline for Sorcadin as you want to be able to soak additional damage.

Overview
Draconic Bloodline
Features
Draconic Resilience: Hit Points	Your Hit Point maximum increase by 1 for each Sorcerer level.
Draconic Resilience	Dragon-like scales cover parts of your skin. When you aren't wearing armour, your Base Armour Class increased to 13.

Dragon Ancestor

As Draconic Bloodline, we can pick our Dragon Ancestor. These give additional spells and at level 6 will give bonus elemental resistances, based on what you choose.

Ancestry	Description
Draconic Ancestry: White (Cold)	This is my recommended choice as it gives Amour of Agathys. It is a good spell that gives temporary health and any enemy that hits you receives cold damage.

Level 7 - Sorcerer Lv 2

Sorcerer Level 2 gives some great unlocks - bonus sorcery points, a new spell slot, class passives, spells, etc.

Spells

I think for now there are no spells that would greatly improve the Sorcerer Paladin build. For this reason, I recommend just going with what you find useful or a ritual spell

Spell	Description
Enhance Leap	Can be used outside of combat without using a Spell slot. Allows to access new places or jump right next to an enemy once combat starts
Feather Fall	Ritual spell, that can be used without expending spell slot. Allows to avoid fall damage.

Class Passives

Sorcerers get access to unique actions - metamagic. They allow to consumption of sorcery points to enhance spellcasting. There are a few options that we will unlock to help Paladin's damage output. For now, we do not get any special choices

Passives	Description
Metamagic: Twinned Spell	Spells that only target 1 creature can target an additional creature
Metamagic: Extended Spell	Double the duration of conditions, summons, and surfaces caused by spells.

Level 8 - Sorcerer Lv 3

We unlock additional sorcery points for metamagic, 2 level 3 spell slots, and another selection for Class Passives.

Spells and Replace Spell

We unlock level 2 spells. As good as it sounds, for our particular Sorcadin build, this is not as important. Sadly, none of these surpass going straight with Divine Smite in terms of damage.

Spell	Description
Scorching Ray	Releases multiple fire rays. Can be used to take out multiple weak enemies from a distance

Regarding spell replacement, if you find that you need something and do not use all spells, it is a perfect time to switch them

Class Passives

To be honest, I think there is only one passive that the Sorcerer Paladin build needs and it will allow the creation of some very strong combos:

Passives	Description
Metamagic: Quickened Spell	By consuming 3 Sorcery points a spell can be cast using bonus action instead of action points. You can use something like Hold Person and at the same turn hit for guaranteed critical. Or activate Haste on yourself and attack, the next turns you will do at least 4 hits in total.

Level 9 - Paladin Lv 6

I think now is a good time to finish off the Paladin class levels. The level 6 gives 1 level 3 spell slot and aura

Action	Description
Aura of Protection	You and nearby allies gain a bonus to Saving Throws equal to your Charisma modifier. Using the Aura you can safely cast Haste or Hold Person and have a reduced chance of them being interrupted

Level 10 - Sorcerer Lv 4

Again, we get plenty of boons for this level-up. 1 level 4 spell slot, bonus sorcery point, cantrip, spell and finally a new Feat.

Cantrips

You can choose whatever cantrip you want at this point, they are now more "good to have" than "necessary. I would take:

Cantrips	Description
Bone Chill	Can be useful in some encounters as you can disable enemy healing and greatly weaken undead enemies.

Spells and Replace

At this point, we are waiting for the next level of spells. Pick whatever you prefer or think that would help you. I would take:

Spell	Description
Mirror Image	The spell can be used to increase armor class and create mirror images of yourself. The duplicates disappear after each hit that you avoid.

Feat

Now this is our last Feat, and we have plenty of options to choose from.

Feat	Description
Savage Attacker	A perfect feat to maximize all the damage of Sorcadin by rolling two dice and taking the better one. It works only on weapon attacks. Moreover, this also affects Smites and any additional effects you do with melee weapons.
Polearm Mastery	Works with two-handed spear-type weapons. First, it gives an Opportunity Attack when an enemy comes within range of your melee attack. Second, you gain additional action that allows you to hit a second time using the polearm's butt. This can be useful as you could land additional smite for a good damage boost using only bonus action.
Ability Improvement	Another option is going for +2 Strength. This will give higher weapon damage and higher attack rolls. A perfect option for shield users.

Level 11 - Sorcerer Lv 5

We unlock level 3 spells and get an additional level 4 spellslot for upcasting. Now there are many good spell choices here that will improve Paladin Sorcerer build

Spell and Replace Spell

Here are two spells that I recommend getting as soon as possible. Take one as a spell selection and another as a replacement

Spell	Description
Counterspell	A very powerful reaction spell. You can use it to cancel any kind of spell using level 3 spell slot. Of course, this means that you will have less for smiting, but it can easily ensure that a huge area of effect spell does not incapacitate most of your party.
Haste	Gives Haste for the target, adding additional action points. This spell is the best used with Quickened Spell metamagic. Consume 3 sorcery points and cast this on yourself with a bonus action. Then you can hit 4 times with smites in the same turn.

Level 12 - Sorcerer Lv 6

We reached the final level of Sorcadin build and level 6 for Sorcerer. By taking the Sorcerer we now get access to a level 5 spell slot. This can be used to release a very powerful Smite. Moreover, we unlock new subclass features based on the draconic bloodline:

Features	Description
Elemental Affinity: Damage	When you cast a spell that deals damage of the type associated with your draconic ancestry, you add your Charisma Modifier to the damage.
Elemental Affinity: Resistance	When you cast a spell that deals damage of the type associated with your draconic ancestry, you can spend 1 Sorcery point to gain Resistance to that damage type.

Spells

There are a few good spells that I think are worth picking up for Sorcadin

Spell	Description
Fireball	Deals fire area of effect damage. Can clear whole rooms of weaker enemies saving you action points and spell slots
Hypnotic Pattern	A perfect spell to immobilize a huge area of foes. Use it on enemies with low Wisdom. This will leave them out of combat for two turns.

General Tips

Now I would like to cover some general tips on how to play Sorcadin Build. It is an extremely powerful subclass with a few things

Utilize Sorcery points

Because we are using Sorcerer multiclass we gain access to its unique mechanic - sorcery points. These can be used for creating higher-level spell slots or consuming them to empower your spells.

The most deadly combination in my opinion is Metamagic: Quickened Spell. Consume 3 Sorcery points and cast a spell as a bonus action. So something as Haste could be cast and then you could hit 4 times in the same turn.

Another example, activating Hold Person, and then hitting two times on the same turn with guaranteed critical hits. Let your allies join in and the enemy is as good as dead. As you can see this unlocks some very powerful strategies.

Smites Explained

This is the signature action of Paladin, that invokes Radiant damage. It looks cool and does a lot of damage. However, there are a few caveats that should be explained.

First, the Paladin gets additional Smites - Thunderous Smite, Searing Smite, etc. They are cool and give additional effects. However, they are far weaker than Divine Smite. Why? Divine Smite only uses Action points and spell slots. Other ones take Action + bonus action. More or less you get more damage per action.

Of course, other Smites come with unique effects like Blind, Freighten, etc. They are also perfect when fighting enemies weak to specific elements - thunder, fire, etc. But if the enemy dies fast, there is no use for alternative smites. So they are best used against higher-health enemies.

Smite away!

By going with Sorcerer multiclass we are able to gain much higher spell slots than by staying on base Paladin. In total A level 6 paladin and 6 Sorcerer will have 14 slots while base Paladin 9.

This allows you to freely use smite as it will definitely be enough for most of the encounters in the game. You can also freely use Shield reaction spells and consume only level 1 spell slots. This will ensure high survivability due to the 5 armour class bonus

Conclusion

Thank you for reading the Sorcadin - Paladin Sorcerer build for Baldur's Gate 3.

Cheers!