Curious if something in #dnd is magical or not? The Sage Advice Compendium has you covered.
Link to the document, and alt text for the image in the follow-up tweets. Alt: You might be thinking, “Dragons seem pretty magical to me.” And yes, they are extraordinary! Their description even says they’re magical. But our game makes a distinction between two types of magic: You might be thinking, “Dragons seem pretty magical
to me.” And yes, they are extraordinary! Their description
even says they’re magical. But our game makes a distinction between two types of magic:
• the background magic that is part of the D&D
multiverse’s physics and the physiology of many
D&D creatures
• the concentrated magical energy that is contained in
a magic item or channeled to create a spell or other
focused magical effect
In D&D, the first type of magic is part of nature. It is no
more dispellable than the wind. A monster like a dragon
exists because of that magic-enhanced nature. The second
type of magic is what the rules are concerned about. When
a rule refers to something being magical, it’s referring to
that second type. Determining whether a game feature is
magical is straightforward. Ask yourself these questions
about the feature:
• Is it a magic item?
• Is it a spell? Or does it let you create the effects of a spell
that’s mentioned in its description?
• Is it a spell attack?
• Is it fueled by the use of spell slots?
• Does its description say it’s magical?
If your answer to any of those questions is yes, the feature
is magical.
• the background magic that is part of the D&D multiverse’s physics and the— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 16, 2021
dragon exists because of that magic-enhanced nature. The second type of magic is what the rules are concerned about. When a rule refers to something being magical, it’s referring to that second type. Determining whether a game feature is
magical is straightforward.— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 16, 2021
If your answer to any of those questions is yes, the feature is magical.
Let’s look at a white dragon’s Cold Breath and ask ourselves those questions. First, Cold Breath isn’t a magic item. Second, its description mentions no spell. Third, it’s not a spell attack.— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 16, 2021
Fourth, the word “magical” appears nowhere in its description. Our conclusion: Cold Breath is not considered a magical game effect, even though we know that dragons are amazing, supernatural beings.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) December 16, 2021
