Sorcadin - Pal2/18Sorc x Pal6/14Sorc
Wanna know what the pro and cons, to go wich determinate path
And whats the best choice for a party with a barbarian, bard and rogue
Posted Nov 4, 2022, 1:40 AM UTC
2219
Paladin 2/Sorcerer 18 is just a worse sorcerer. Booming Blade + Smite = Bad damage. Booming Blade + Smite + Quicken Booming Blade + Smite = No more spell slots or sorcery points.
Paladin 6/Sorcerer X is a better paladin. High level paladin spells and features are kind of mediocre, and sorcerer gives you more and better spells. Six level of paladin gets armor and weapon proficiency, a fighting style, a channel divinity, extra attack, and aura of protection. Aura of protection is something every party needs if they want to not die.
19
On the topic of "Pal 2/Sorc being a worse Sorcerer" I once worked on a melee Sorc buid I called "the pocket Sorcadin". It was actually a Mountain Dwarf single class Sorc. I was planning on negotiating some spell swaps with the GM in order to get Smite spells. Otherwise, I was considering some sort of Dex + Cha Zariel Tiefling build since they get Smite spells as racial.
Either way, it still left me with the issue of HP and a lack of Extra Attack. Here, I considered magic items (in the best case scenario). Have an ally concentrate on Haste using a loaded Ring of Spell Storing. Wear Bracers of Defense. That way, I'd have a poor man's "Paladin" on a single class Sorc.
2
Paladin 2 / sorcerer 18 gets 9th level spells, but you basically a sorcerer with heavy armor. You have the ability to smite, extra spells known, and wis instead of con saving throws unless you go sorcerer first then paladin in which case are a sorcerer with medium armor. Personally at the point doing jsut 2 levels in paladin I would rather 1 level cleric or even 1 levek fighter instead. (Though 2 level paladin swords bard wouldn't be decent)
Paladin 6 / Sorcerer 14 you move to a support / effective melee damage dealing character. You lose out on higher level spells and for the 1st part of the game you are just a paladin. Getting aura of vitality is huge defensively not to mention with heavy armor, a shield, and shield spell can push AC to 25. You get access to many great spells and have a ton of spell slots to smite with. (Swords bard or lore bard also work in place of sorcerer depending on what going for.).
However another contender I believe you missed is paladin 8 / sorcerer 12. Certain paladins oaths like ancients, watchers, oathbreaker, and others it is often worth going 2 more levels for thier extra aura and another ASI. Allowing for a very strong support or defensive charcter. (Swords bard or lore bard also work in place of sorcerer depending on what going for.).
Hope this helps.
18
Pal2/Sorc18 if you want 9th level spell slots. You get almost everything that you get as a spellcaster, plus you can smite. But would you really get to smite with such a low martial level? You don't even have extra attack at that level. You probably also don't really have the ability scores needed to perform well in combat, as you're mainly a caster. So do you even really need those two paladin levels? 2 lvl paladin dip is nice, but you got better stuff to do at aorc 18 than to go into melee to smite.
Pal6/Sorc14 is amazing as it gives you both Aura of Protection and - for some sorcerer classes at least - the ability to fly permanently without concentration. You have Extra attack, you have a shit ton of spell slots and sorcery points to get even more, or use them on your metamagic options, you call it. You can quicken-spell hold monster and smite something to death with your guaranteed crits. You're a divine, magical killing machine. By the way, you still get a 9th level spell slot as a Pal6/Sorc14, you just can't use it for spells. Which means you'll either be upcasting something beyond imagination or you will simply smite something dead with 20d8=90 extra average damage on a crit. And 18d8=81 extra average damage on the second attack, from your 8th level spell slot.
Edit: I completely forgot divine smite's damage cap lmao. Still neat extra damage that you get there.
3
The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend, to a maximum of 6d8.
1
Oh yeah I completely forgot. I guess that means it's gonna be hold-5-monsters.
1
Or Counterspell.
1
Armor of Agathys for giggles.
2
Personally I'd stick to pal 6 sor 14. Coz on on hand you do get extra attack(which is superior to Booming blade). Ok the other, the paladin aura of protection is god tier. It's basically a better version of the often lauded monk 14 feature.
And do consider going pal 7 too, depending on the subclass. For something like watchers that could be really good
2
Others have said a lot of really good information. Ultimately playing a Sorcadin is going to have a very Gish feeling to it. Depending on if you go 2 or 6 in paladin will determine what kind of gish you want to be. 2 levels will result in giving you decent options if you find yourself in melee and want to do a big smite. But you’ll still want to be mostly a ranged combatant. 6 levels of paladin will give you a lot more survivability and extra attack so you can be much more of a melee gish fighter.
They both have their pros and cons, it just depends on the fantasy you wish to live.
The last thing I’ll say is this. If you go paladin 2 you probably want to go sorcerer first and go straight to 5 to get your 3rd level spells. Conversely, if you’re going paladin 6 you’re going to want to get to level 5 as paladin first. Level 5 is a massive power spike for basically every class. Extra attack or 3rd level spells are paramount. If you do a multiclass and don’t get either of those at level 5 you’re going to feel lack luster compared to your party.
1
If your doing pally 2 sorc 18 learn quickened spell for booming blade so you can cast it twice in a round, dealing (4d8+2d6+3)X2 in one round!!!! At level 5
1
2/18 is just bad imo. If you wanna be an armored Sorcerer, just take Hexblade or Cleric. "More full caster levels means more smites" is overstated imo. Using anything higher than level 4 slots on smites are a complete waste, and even if you wanna smite a bunch, you should at least get extra attack for more smite opportunities. So yeah 6/14 (or 7/13 if you have a good subclass Aura) is vastly superior, again, imo
1
Not to multiclass. Seriously be a caster or be a front liner and don’t compromise.
1
Paladin 2: You can burn spell slots on smites
Paladin 6: You get Aura of Protection
It’s really that easy of a choice, but everyone wants to complicate it. It’s worth noting too that sorcerers get a subclass ability at 14 so yes you may be losing your second aura from paladin 7, but you’re gaining a sorcerer subclass ability from it.
Paladin 6 also gets extra attack.
Is that not Paladin 5?
Yes