Trying to make a Divine Soul Sorcerer/ Oath of Redemption Paladin build.

[Virtualshark]

First post on this forum but I've been a long time lurker.

I've recently been struck with a character idea for a Aasimar Divine soul Sorcerer with an Oath of Redemption paladin dip.
Does anyone have and ideas on how this would best be done?

I tend to come up with concepts first so I know the two probably aren't optimal to put together but I'm more interested in making the idea I had in the first place work.
I was thinking of going for Protector Aasimar with the first level being Paladin for the proficiencies.

I do want to lean more on the Sorcerer side rather than paladin but I would like to get as high level spells as possible.

What levels should I put into each class and are there and feats or other things I should make sure to get?

[Cikomyr2]

Do you need help on the mechanical side, or the role-playing side?

[Virtualshark]

Do you need help on the mechanical side, or the role-playing side?
More mechanical probably, I've never really gone into paladin either so working out how to balance it with wanting spells is a bit of an issue.
I've mostly played Wizards and fighters so far.

[Cikomyr2]

More mechanical probably, I've never really gone into paladin either so working out how to balance it with wanting spells is a bit of an issue.
I've mostly played Wizards and fighters so far.

Well, Paladin get some really nifty features as they progress. The level 6 cha bonus to all saves will be a godsend for any situation, especially if you plan to be heavily melee.

But then, sorcerer spellcasting is also just so good, especially with your Sorcery point. Lack of high level spells will mean you will need to either use these high slots as upcasting (with some awesome synergy for a melee build like Spirit Shroud or Spirit Guardians), as smiting or as Sorcery point source for your metamagic.

So if your worry is the balance between Paladin and Sorcerer, I'd argue you should just play it by ear. Get Paladin to level 2 at the very minimum so you can smite, and then just have fun either way.

As for feats, war Caster is probably a solid one for you as a melee fighter who will probably have buffs to concentrate on. From there, you either find a weakness of your style to plug (mobility? Reaction use? Toughness?) or you double down on your existing strengths (extra metamagic).

[RogueJK]

Sorcadins are generally built as either Paladin 2/Sorcerer X or Paladin 6/Sorcerer X. (But sometimes you'll want Paladin 7 for the 2nd subclass feature, depending on the subclass. And Conquest Sorcadins specifically often do Paladin 9/Sorcerer X in order to get the Fear spell ASAP.)

The 2/X split will have more high level spellcasting. The 6/X split will have more melee ability due to Extra Attack and better saves thanks to the Aura of Protection.

So unless there's something specific about the Redemption abilities that you're wanting, it sounds like based on your statement of wanting more Sorcerer and high level spells, I'd probably go with the first option and just stick to 2 levels of Paladin only. You'd still have a Fighting Style, Divine Sense, Lay on Hand, Smite, and some low level Paladin spellcasting, but no subclass abilities.

Rather than starting with Paladin, you'll want to consider starting your first level as Sorcerer, in order to get CON save proficiency. This will help you keep Concentration on your spells. The main benefit to going Paladin first is it will give you proficiency in Heavy Armor and let you totally dump DEX. But provided you can manage a 14ish DEX in your available stats, Medium Armor can get you to within 1 AC point of Heavy Armor (Half Plate 17 vs Full Plate 18), and you'll have defensive Sorcerer spell options like Shield/Mirror Image/etc. to help out your defense anyway. Plus access to the Defense fighting style for another +1 AC, if you so choose. (And Medium Armor doesn't have a STR requirement, if you happen to want to be DEX-based with a Rapier instead of STR-based.) So Heavy Armor isn't a necessity, and as long as you can swing a 14 DEX, I'd recommend the CON save proficency as a higher priority, especially since you're going to be more heavily weighted towards Sorcerer spellcasting.

If you're okay with Medium Armor only, I'd go Sorcerer 1 -> Sorcerer 1/Paladin 2 -> then straight Sorcerer from there. Otherwise, for Heavy Armor, go Paladin 2 then straight Sorcerer, and just plan on needing to take either the Resilient CON or Warcaster feat to boost your Concentration saves.

Here's a guide to Paladin/Sorcerer Multiclassing that does a good job of breaking down the build options and strategies, although it's a little outdated since it doesn't incorporate the various new options in Tasha's: https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?502673-Unlimited-Blade-Works-The-Guide-to-the-Ultimate-Paladin-Sorcerer-Multiclass

[Saelethil]

It depends on how much Paladin you consider a “dip.” I would probably go 6 Paladin for second attack at 5th and Aura of Protection at 6th. That saving throw boost counts for concentration checks which would seriously bump up the reliability of your spells. Considering the Sorcerer’s d6 hit die and high charisma, you would get a lot out of boosting saving throws through Aura of Protection for personal survival and aiding allies.
If 6 is too much for your concept then stopping at 3 would still get you a bit of Paladin goodness.

[Mercurias]

I kinda agree with taking only two levels of Pally if you want to focus on casting. You can keep up the oaths through roleplay and be a smitey frontline caster that way.

Redemption is a great Pally Oath, but it’s class abilities shine when taking damage for your party members. If you invest heavily in casting, I think you’ll find that the Sorcerer d6 health die will bring you some major problems down the line.

If you want to lean into the tanky role, then I’d invest in 6-7 levels of Redemption Pally for the boost to your saves and extra health.

[Verble]

I'm a fan of paladin 6/sorcerer x. This gives you better healing from LoH, extra attack, a huge boost to your saves and your allies, and higher HP.

It's a toss up on which class to start as. As a caster people tend to prefer sorc first for the Con saves, but then you lose out on heavy armor from starting as paladin. That's part of why I like going to paladin 6 to buff you concentration checks.

What sort of role do you expect to play in the group? What's the rest of the group playing? What level are you starting at?

[da newt]

If you aren't locked in on Assimar, you could go Tasha's Custom Lineage (or V. Human, but I prefer Tasha's) and take RES CON as your feat and start Pali. I prefer Pali 6 / Sorc X for a well balanced GISH - the saves are very handy especially at higher levels, but Pali 2 / Sorc X sounds more like what you are looking for.

Do you expect to go all the way to 20?

[Foolkiller]

First time poster. I just ran such a character. I intentionally took the contrarian role of dedicated in-combat healer for a party of 7, through DragonHeist and Mad Mage. And it worked fine. You'd be surprised what characters are capable of doing when they know there is someone present who wont let them fail. And watch how they protect you in return.

Redemption paladins abhor violence and use it only as a last resort. As such, why waste a few levels to get extra attack at lvl 5 when attacking someone is the last thing you want to do?

Go human variant or custom to begin with a feat. Take healer. Focus on healing and removing debuffs. Dump DEX and INT. Go pally min for STR. Who cares if your speed is only 20? You're a back line caster.

Stop at lvl 3 pally to get smites, pally only spells, disease immunity and Rebuke the Violent. Pick up an amulet of the devout so you can rebuke the violent twice before a rest. Go sorcerer from then on. Get metamagic adept for extra sorcery points. Get a Bloodwell vial to regain 5 sorcery points in a short rest. Now you still have an attunement slot left for a cool utility item or cool sword of you find one. Then start raising CHA or go Inspiring Leader (prayer for the group after each rest) for temp hp that you dont have to worry about healing.

With 15 points of LoH, Healer feat (bonus action and severely underrated) and healing spells. Get your metamagics focused on twinning and distance at first. Stay in the back rows and still use cure wounds on front liners or move up to second rank and twin cure wounds on two separate front liners. And there is always Healing Word for little touch ups when sorcery points aren't needed.

Take pally first for the extra hp and the heavy armor prof. Don't worry so much about concentration because you're a platemail/greatsword backliner lol.

And in the rare event that something gets in your face, do a green-flame blade smite with your greatsword. Everything else, spam the heck out of sacred flame.

[meandean]

Healer feat (bonus action and severely underrated)Welcome! To greet you with a nitpick, in the rules as written, using a healer's kit is the Use an Object action, which is your full action. This is why people often put the Healer feat on a Thief Rogue, because Thieves can Use an Object as a bonus action.