Sorcerer Paladin hybrids are nothing new. In fact, Sorcadin is a term I’ve seen around for as long as the game’s been out, and this guide is just my personal take on it.

For a while, I failed to see the appeal of that multiclassing. “Metamagic isn’t going to work on smites, so why would I bother?“. I also didn’t really find any detailed guide on it, which made me even more curious.

As it turns out, u/c4b-Bg3 published a guide on this very archetype a few days ago. Shoutout to them - their guide has helped refining my own. If you want some more detailed versions of the Sorcadin, quick setups without reading too much, you should definitely check their guide out.

Back to my take on the archetype. A Sorcerer-Paladin hybrid is about the most generalist version of Paladin you can imagine. You can pretty much do it all. You already have healing and martial damage with Paladin, plus some elements of control. With Sorcerer, you have even more control (Counterspell, Extended Metamagic for the likes of Command), great utility for your party (Haste, Enhance Ability, etc.), plus the whole metamagic toolkit. Not to mention possible access to quite unique spells such as Armour of Agathys. You’re reaching lore bard levels of “do it all”.

An Extended Command spell will deny two turns for a number of enemies, without breaking whatever spell you’re concentrating on. This “whatever” can be Haste, but not necessarily (Sleeting Storm is also a possibility, or just Hold Person on non-commanded enemies).

You can expect this build to:

• come online around level 7.
  
• need zero respec (so long as you start as Paladin).
  
• fit easily into parties: can either be the party carry who solo win fights almost on its own, the unwavering frontliner who will endure and finish off the enemies, the unyielding controller who will maintain them in place for your casters…
  
• have high damage (both AoE and single target), near irresistible control spells, high AC, high utility.

Finally, this build is wonderful for any elemental-themed party. Running a fire party? Go fire sorcerer. Cold party? Cold sorcerer. Lightning/Thunder party? Storm sorcerer.


We’re going to go for 6 Paladin / 6 Fire Sorcerer, in that order. Here’s why:

6 Paladin

• Heavy armor proficiency.
  
• Access to Command, which will be our main control spell.
  
• Access to Extra Attack.
  
• Access to the usual Paladin kit with healing, a fighting style, and smites.
  
• Access to another feat.
  
• Access to Aura of Protection.

6 Fire Sorcerer

• Access to Metamagic, most notably Twinned and Extended spells.
  
• Access to Counterspell, Shield, and other good utility spells.
  
• Access to Fire based spells which will raise our Arcane Acuity and thus, Spell Attack Rolls and Spell Save DC.
  
• Access to a feat.

Fire Sorcerer is not mandatory. In fact, you can go with any Draconic variation (most notably Cold with Armour of Agathys) or even with Storm Sorcerer. This is up to you and your party needs.

7 Paladin is also a possibility, depending on your Oath choice. I will discuss it in Leveling Plan.

• Near irresistible control spells. And with Extended Command, you’ll be able to maintain enemies in a certain spots (say, a hazard) or come to you, or grovel, for indefinite amounts of time. It’s crazy good.
  
• Can be tuned to fit wonderfully in any themed elemental party, and in general in any party.
  
• Some AoE damage options with the likes of Fireball, Lightning Bolt.
  
• Cold variant gets access to Armour of Agathys which is a fantastic spell for frontliners. Just upcast it and enjoy.
  
• Super good single target damage with smites.
  
• Has the Shield spell as a melee character. Enough said.
  
• Great defense with Aura of Protection and high AC.
  
• Smooth leveling plan with no dead levels.
  
• One of the best party faces with high CHA, proficiencies, Sorcerer and Paladin dialogue options.
  
• Overall a ridiculous amount of tools. Single target damage, AoE damage, control, metamagic for extended or twinned spells, Paladin Auras… the list goes on.

• You’ll only get 5-6 sorcery points. You could create more points with spell slots, but you really need the spell slots. Sorcery points shortage will be an issue if you’re not careful. Twinned Haste will not always be an option.
  
• Only 2 feats is rough on a build where you really want more stats, Savage Attacker, and possibly Great Weapon Master (for the two-handed variant).

Note: the DEX based version is discussed in Alternative Approaches.

Open Paladin. Take 16 STR, 17 CHA and 14 CON. Proficiencies are whatever, but take Persuasion and Intimidation if you want to be the party face (you should).

Important note: You can consider 17 STR if you intend to get Hag’s Hair, but this will break your Oath. This may be intentional, but remember that if you’re an Oathbreaker, you need to pay 1000 gold to restore your oath before respeccing. This may or may not be a problem (the standard STR, Paladin first version of the build doesn’t need to respec anyway, you can always fight the Hag after your respec, etc.), but you should know about it.

You should get Hag’s Hair if you want this build to be your party carry. If another party carry is already in the neighbourhood (say, a Fire Sorcerer-Warlock), just let them have it.


As usual, basically whatever. As usual, Half-orc is great for a Paladin. Wood-elf is also great with extra movement.

You can also consider a Dragonborn to match with the Draconic Bloodline subclass.


You can get whatever Oath you like. All are fine, but your choice will determine your levels distribution.

Oath of the Ancients, Oath of Devotion and Oathbreaker should go 7 Paladin / 5 Sorcerer to access their respective subclass Aura, which are all great. Ancients and Devotion auras are better defensively, while Oathbreaker gets extra damage.

Oath of Vengeance Paladin should go for 6/6 as Vengeance Paladin’s level 7 feature is forgettable.

You’re going to be leveling up Paladin until level 6.

Level 2 will give you your fighting style. Take Defence. If you’re going to play two-handed, Great Weapon Fighting is also fine (but gets eventually replaced by Savage Attacker). If you’re going one-handed + shield, Dueling is great.

At level 4, you get your first feat. Take Savage Attacker. Great Weapon Master is also a possibility if you’re playing two handed, but getting it later is fine.

Level 5 will give you your extra attack.

Level 6 will give you Aura of Protection, a fantastic feature to maintain concentration and resist enemy control/damage.


Once you hit level 7, open Sorcerer. Do not respec to open Sorcerer first (you’d lose Heavy Armour proficiency), unless you want to go DEX based (see Alternative Approaches).

If you didn’t do it already, it’s a good time to get Hag’s Hair (which will break your Oath). I recommend doing so.

Note: if you leveled up as a Sorcerer in the early game, this is a good time to respec as well.


You have three different choices to be a Fire Draconic Sorcerer. I recommend Red ancestry, which will give you Burning Hands, but that’s a minor aspect of the build, so don’t go out of your way for that.

Cold Sorcerer should always pick White ancestry for the amazing Armour of Agathys. This is the more general choice. Even if you don’t specifically want your build to fit in a Cold party, Armour of Agathys is the best Draconic Sorcerer spell available.

Storm Sorcerer is also an option. You get to fly basically for free and without triggering Opportunity Attacks. Storm Sorcerers should always go 6/6 to get the level 6 Storm Sorcerer features: extra damage with Lightning/Thunder spells, resistances, and extra spells which will allow you to play around the Wet condition.


Keep leveling Sorcerer until level 11 (Paladin 6 / Sorcerer 5).

Sorcerer levels 2 and 3 will give you metamagic - make sure you take Extended and Twinned. The third option is up to you, but I usually like Quickened.

Sorcerer level 4 will give you your second feat - take Great Weapon Master. +2 CHA is also possible. You can also consider dropping Savage Attacker to get both GWM and +2 CHA.

At level 12, you have to choose where your last level goes.

If you’re a Storm Sorcerer, you should always go 6/6.

Oathbreakers and Oath of the Ancient Paladins should strongly consider getting Paladin level 7 for the extra Aura. Oath of Vengeance Paladin should not get Paladin level 7. Oath of Devotion is whatever.

Getting Fire Sorcerer to level 6 is good, because you’ll get to add your CHA to each Fire spell damage roll. Scorching Rays comes to mind - CHA will be added to each ray’s damage. Other Draconic Sorcerers do not care that much.

You should always get +2 CHA and Patriar’s Memory (+1 CHA) from Mirror of Loss. At that point, you should have Gloves of Hill Giant Strength, and respec to drop all STR in favor of DEX.

If you’re playing two-handed, and now that you’ve acquired another +2 DEX, you can respec to drop the Ability Score Improvement and get Great Weapon Master. It’s probably optimal as far as two-handed weapons go… but the build is probably best played with Belm and a shield (or another lightweight weapon) anyway.

Your late game stats should be 20-22 CHA, 16 DEX, 14 CON and 23 STR (with Gloves).

Cantrips are up to personal preference, you get more than you need. Make sure to get Friends for dialogue checks, Minor Illusion, and the cantrip matching your Sorcerer ancestry (Fire Bolt or Ray of Frost). Shocking Grasp is also sweet.

These are just recommended spells. Apart from Counterspell, you can replace them with what you like most. A few words on these choices:

• Scorching Ray is your most important spell as a Fire Sorcerer, and will be used to quickly raise your Arcane Acuity (and thus, Spell Save DC) to absurd levels. If you’re not playing the Fire version, you can skip it.
  
• Haste is a great spell. Twin Haste is tempting, but usually there are better uses for your sorcery points. You don’t have to use it, especially on this build.
  
• Counterspell is non negotiable.
  
• Enhance Ability is a great spell, but is better given to another party member. Either a support (Cleric) or a Bard/Sorcerer who doesn’t burn their spell slots as fast as you do.
  
• Feel free to drop Misty Step or even Hold Person for another spell, such as Grant Flight or Lightning Bolt.

Make sure you grab Command. Otherwise, just take your special smites and whatever else suits your fancy. Divine Favour is good as it is a bonus action cast.

Once you reach the grove, you could start using STR Elixirs and quickly respec to dump STR in favor of CHA. I’m personally not a big fan and prefer using Gloves of Dexterity later on, but you do you.

The Everburn Blade[bg3.wiki] can be grabbed at the end of the nautiloid and can stay through most of Act 1.

Broodmother’s Revenge[bg3.wiki] is a good amulet for you, especially as an Oath of the Ancients Paladin. They can also consider grabbing The Whispering Promise[bg3.wiki] which is easily set up with Healing Radiance (but don’t take this ring off a dedicated cleric).

At the goblin camp, grab Gloves of the Growling Underdog[bg3.wiki] for an easy source of advantage, and Bow of Awareness[bg3.wiki] for extra Initiative.

In the Underdark, grab Caustic Band[bg3.wiki] and Disintegrating Night Walkers[bg3.wiki].

At the forge, grab an Adamantine Splint Armour[bg3.wiki].

At the crèche, grab Diadem of Arcane Synergy[bg3.wiki]. You can also take Strange Conduit Ring[bg3.wiki] and give Caustic Band to someone else. Ring of Elemental Infusion[bg3.wiki] is a noteworthy mention.

Make sure to buy the Gloves of Dexterity[bg3.wiki]. You can quickly respec to dump DEX once you wear them. You can also buy Unseen Menace[bg3.wiki] from the same trader.


At Last Light, Fire Sorcerers who want control can grab Hat of Fire Acuity[bg3.wiki]. Don’t take if off a dedicated Fire Sorcerer build, however. Non Fire Sorcerers who want control should grab Helmet of Arcane Acuity[bg3.wiki] later on. If it is contested, they can also use Hat of Storm Scion’s Power[bg3.wiki] coupled with Drakethroat Glaive’s spell.

The best option to raise Arcane Acuity overall is the Helmet, even for Fire Sorcerers. Yes, Scorching Ray will raise Arcane Acuity quicker, but that will not work with Band of the Mystic Scoundrel (which means you won’t be able to raise Arcane Acuity and cast a control spell in the same turn, unless you are hastened).

If you want to maximize weapon damage, just keep the Diadem.

Amulet of the Harpers[bg3.wiki] is a good defensive pick.

At Moonrise, you can buy Drakethroat Glaive[bg3.wiki] and use it to enchant your weapon with fire or whatever element suits your build. You should also get Risky Ring[bg3.wiki]. Be careful if you’re going to concentrate on Haste…

Finally, buy the Halberd of Vigilance[bg3.wiki], which will stay until late Act 3. Dwarven Splintmail[bg3.wiki] is also a good armour buy.

Spineshudder Amulet[bg3.wiki] is really good to inflict ridiculous amounts of Reverberation with Scorching Ray. Don’t take it off a dedicated Reverberation build/caster.

Ring of Mental Inhibition[bg3.wiki] is a consideration if you want even more control.

Reaper’s Embrace[bg3.wiki] should replace your armour at the end of the act.


Band of the Mystic Scoundrel[bg3.wiki] is available very early and you should use it if you’re building Arcane Acuity.

Hellrider Longbow[bg3.wiki] is your best bow. It is usually contested, and you have a lot of Initiative already ; just keep Bow of Awareness if necessary.

Gauntlets of Hill Giant Strength[bg3.wiki] should replace your current gloves. Make sure to respec and dump STR in favor of DEX.

If you can spare the coin, buy and wear Armour of Persistence[bg3.wiki].

Spell Savant Amulet[bg3.wiki] is a good amulet option with a much needed extra spell slot. If playing with scorching rays, I’d just keep Spineshudder Amulet.

Balduran’s Giantslayer[bg3.wiki] is your best weapon.

In the early and mid game, just be a regular Paladin, dealing damage with weapons and smites, casting the occasional control spell.

Somewhere in act 2, you will be able to raise Arcane Acuity to insane levels, through Scorching Ray or with weapon attacks. At level 11, you will also be able to Hasten yourself.

Your will usually want to spend your Action on weapon attacks. Bonus action can go to a Control spell (if wearing Band of the Mystic Scoundrel), a support ability (Divine Favour, Healing Radiance, Inquisitor’s Might), or another attack (Great Weapon Master).

If you’re raising Arcane Acuity with fire and not weapon attacks, you should instead cast a big boy Scorching Ray.

Hastening yourself is nice, but will prevent you from casting Hold Person or other concentration spells for the rest of the fight (you don’t want to drop concentration on Haste). And Hold Person is really sweet when you can auto crit someone with Smites in the equation.

Command spells should always be upcasted to target multiple enemies, and with the Extended metamagic option. Approach and Grovel are usually the best option - the latter both for advantage or simply to make enemies stay in a hazard.

If you have Armour of Agathys, cast it (level 3 or higher) on yourself before each fight.

Do not use your level 5 spell slot for a smite. It does not do anything more than a level 4 spell smite and would be a waste. Levels 4/5 slots should be kept for control spells anyway, and level 1-3 slots for smites.

With Arcane Acuity, your Spell Save DC will look like this:

• 8 (base)
  
• +5-6 (Charisma)
  
• +4 (Proficiency)
  
• +4-10 (Arcane Acuity)

That is a Spell Save DC ranging from 21 to 28. No one in the base game, save for bosses with Legendary Resistance, will routinely clear such a saving throw.

Remember that Command does not work on Undead.

Feel free to shoot the occasional Fireball or Lightning Bolt at enemies - Command: Approach will be great to set this up too.

Sure. Dump DEX, use Helldusk Gloves, any medium armour that fully scales with your DEX, and make sure to respec and open Sorcerer first for CON saving throw proficiency (you will not need Heavy Armour proficiency anymore).

As for weapons, you can use the likes of The Dancing Breeze[bg3.wiki] (Two-handed finesse weapon) or Belm[bg3.wiki] (pair it with Rhapsody[bg3.wiki] if available). Both give you Whirlwind Attack once per short rest, which is worth mentioning for the occasional 11 Hunter impression. You can also use any good rapier like Pelorsun Blade[bg3.wiki] (it gives you advantage against Undead - one of the few enemies you can’t control with Command) or Duelist’s Prerogative (with an empty off-hand). If you want to wear a shield, Ketheric’s Shield[bg3.wiki] is your best.

Finally, drop Great Weapon Master for +2 DEX (or CHA if you want better control).


It will work and allow you to dump STR early. But as I said above, I’m not a big fan. I’d rather have my elixir slot free to use the likes of Bloodlust or Vigilance. Besides, stats investment is covered in late Act 1 by DEX gloves, and by STR gloves in Act 3.


It’s tempting, but you just won’t cast that many fire spells outside of Scorching Ray, and its purpose will be to raise Acuity rather than dealing damage.


You can dual wield with this build. But if you do, you’d probably be dual wielding another light weapons (e.g. Belm, Knife of the Undermountain King, Rhapsody, etc.), so the feat won’t do anything for you.

If something isn't clear to you, or if you feel like I missed something, let me know in the comments below. I read every single comment I get, and will do my best to answer yours.

Thanks for reading the guide and I hope you have fun with the build!