I would like know if it is viable and sustianable to mutliclass paladin with Sorcerer. But I am unsure if these two would mesh well together and end up becoming good or if it would just lead to a sub par character that isn’t good at anything. By viable I mean can it hold it up to other classes in combat and have the nessary utility.
I was thinking of doing a dip in wild magic sorcerer for my 6th level Paladin primarly to get shield spell. He is an oath of the crown paladin, obsesed with bring order and doing good and I am taken with the idea he suddenly is infected with chaos, tide of chaos and wild magic surge table looks like it could be great fun and interesting to role-play. As a few level dip will give a lot of spell slots that can be used for divine smite.
Yes, it’s viable.
In general, multiclassing more than 3, 4 levels into another class will lead to your character losing access to his/her most powerful class features or spells at high levels.
Specifically, a paladin/sorcerer multiclass is generally not the worst idea. Sorcerers get more potent spell slots than paladins do, while a paladin gets to prepare spells and therefore has a wider variety of spells to choose from.
Looking at what you lose in those classes if you multiclass:
Paladins don’t get too insane improvements from level 16 to 20, aside from an ASI, an improved aura and their level 20 Sacred Oath feature. So, you’re losing out on a few nice features – especially the level 20 feature can be really badass – but it’s not too bad.
If you’re a main sorcerer, you’ll probably want to aim for Sorcerer(16)/Paladin(4) or Sorcerer(17)/Paladin(3). The first option gives you an additional ASI, while the second one gives you another metamagic option and an additional sorcery point and known spell.
So, the benefits from multiclassing:
Paladins are one of my favorite classes to multiclass into, since they get Lay on hands, which can open up new ways of approaching problems, as well as a fighting style at 2nd level (if in doubt, Defense) and a potentially really cool Sacred Oath Channel Divinity feature – my personal favorite is the Oath of Vengeance.
Sorcerers get metamagic at level 3 and gain sorcery points at level 2, usable for metamagic or transformable into spell slots. Also, you’ll get higher level spell slots with a sorcerer, since they’re a fullcaster, whereas paladins are just half-casters (see the Multiclass Spellcaster table in the PHB, p. 165). The sorcerous origin features can also be pretty decent.
So, to answer your question – yes, a Sorcerer 17/Paladin 3 can still be pretty powerful, even though you’re missing out on the highest-level class features. To fully decide, you’d have to take a look at which path makes sense for your character, and if that synergizes well with your sorcerer.
While I would not recommend multiclassing a main paladin into sorcerer, this is still possible – for example, metamagic with Twinned Spell can be really useful for lots of spells.
In the end, you have to know what fits roleplay-wise, and decide accordingly.