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The object is visibly magical, radiating dim light out to 5 feet.

If I summon a dagger (or 10 daggers), will attacks made with them be able to overcome a creature resistance (which can normally be overcome by magical weapon)?

What if I summon silver daggers instead?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Note that minor conjuration summons 1 object at a time, you cannot conjure 10 daggers at once. \$\endgroup\$
    – Szega
    Mar 10, 2018 at 16:01

3 Answers 3

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There is no magical damage type in D&D 5e

A dagger does piercing damage whether it is a magic dagger or no. A dagger made by Minor Conjuration is magical - it says it is in the text.

If a creature has immunity/resistance to piercing damage than every dagger is going to be subject to it.

If a creature has immunity/resistance to piercing damage from not X, then if the dagger is X it will not be subject to it.

For example, a werewolf has "Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons." So if the dagger is magical (which it is) or silver (which it could be if you made it so) it will overcome this resistance.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ There is only one damage type that is magical inherently and that if Force. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 11, 2018 at 0:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ I think you could improve this with reference to the MM errata section on resistances/immunities and how they revamped the verbiage. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 11, 2018 at 16:06
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Slagmoth damage types are not magical - the thing that causes the damage either is or isn’t magical. So far, everything that causes force damage uses magic to do so but that may change. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dale M
    Mar 11, 2018 at 21:32
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    \$\begingroup\$ The force damage type actually says it is magical in the description. The only one that is inherently magical by definition. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 11, 2018 at 23:00
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The attack would be magical (but not much damage)

NOTE: Answer has been significantly edited based on the MM Errata (link below).

Your question asks about resistances that "can normally be overcome by magical weapon". Note that the original 5e Monster Manual had several monsters who had resistance or immunity to "nonmagical weapons". However, this has been changed via an Errata to "nonmagical attacks". Specifically:

Vulnerabilities, Resistances, and Immunities (p. 8). “Particular creatures are even resistant or immune to damage from nonmagical attacks (a magical attack is an attack delivered by a spell, a magic item, or another magical source)”

The object created by Minor Conjuration is "visibly magical" (PHB, p. 116), so it is a magical item (albeit a temporary one). As such, attacks delivered with it will overcome resistance or immunity to nonmagical attacks.

You could use a conjured silver weapon to damage beings whose immunity does not apply to silvered weapons. However, you would not be able to damage such a creature this way more than once per use of this feature, since due to a change to the rules via an [errata:][6]

Minor Conjuration (PHB p. 116). The conjured object also disappears if it deals any damage (6th printing).

You'd probably be better off casting a damaging cantrip.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Technically there isn't magical damage other than Force. They rewrote the system to have resistances to damage from magical sources. Example: a longsword +1 still does slashing damage albeit from a magical source. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 10, 2018 at 17:57
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    \$\begingroup\$ @DavidCoffron A magic weapon, not just a magic item, does magical damage. See the following tweet indicating that a magic shield does not do magical damage if used as an improvised weapon. (Post edited to include that point) \$\endgroup\$ Mar 11, 2018 at 2:20
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    \$\begingroup\$ Note that nonmagical ammunition become magical when used with a magic weapon. \$\endgroup\$
    – Rob Rose
    Mar 11, 2018 at 2:26
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    \$\begingroup\$ Please see the Monster Manual errata here. : “Particular creatures are even resistant or immune to damage from nonmagical attacks (a magical attack is an attack delivered by a spell, a magic item, or another magical source). In addition, some creatures are immune to certain conditions.” It is maybe just a nitpick but I think it is misleading to call it "magical damage" as there is no such damage type. \$\endgroup\$
    – Slagmoth
    Mar 11, 2018 at 16:05
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Slagmoth, that's a very helpful point. I was going off of an antiquated version of the Monster's Manual, which informed my answer. I've edited my answer considerably. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 11, 2018 at 19:30
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Spell damage is always magical unless it says otherwise

Unless a spell specifies otherwise, any damage dealt by the spell is magical. This is highlighted in spells like Swift Quiver in the PHB pp. 279-280:

You transmute your quiver so it produces an endless supply of nonmagical ammunition, which seems to leap into your hand when you reach for it.

Contrast this with a spell like Thorn Whip in the PHB pg. 282, which does piercing damage. It's a cantrip, it's affecting a target, and by default being magical it counts as magical piercing damage.

Conjured objects aren't exempt from this just because the spell isn't doing damage. Again, the default rule applies though. Unless the object specifically says otherwise, anything summoned by magic is magical. An example of this is Flame Blade in the PHB pg. 242 which summons a flaming saber into your hand that deals fire damage. Whereas if you conjure a pack of woodland creatures, their game statistics determine what kind of damage they deal and whether or not it's magical.

Contrast that with the spell Fabricate in the PHB pg. 239 which states:

Creatures or magic items can’t be created or transmuted by this spell. You also can’t use it to create items that ordinarily require a high degree of craftsmanship, such as jewelry, weapons, glass, or armor, unless you have proficiency with the type of artisan’s tools used to craft such objects.

So even if you used a spell like Fabricate to create a weapon because you're also a blacksmith, the weapon can not be magical because the limitation is written into the spell.

As to your question with respect to Minor Conjuration, I've listed the pertinent text here, emphasis mine:

Conjure up an inanimate object. Object can be no more than 3 feet on a side and weigh no more then 10 pounds. Its form must be that of a non-magical object that you have seen. The object is visibly magical, radiating dim light out to 5 feet.

It says it right in the description. The object is visibly magical, so yes, you can use it to overcome damage resistance.

Oh, and Crawford ruled on this when asked:

Do spells that deal physical damage count as magical?

TL; DR version - Spells are magical by default unless it is specifically stated otherwise. Conjuration specifically calls out when it's not magical, and summoned creatures don't apply because their game statistics tell you whether or not they're magical.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I disagree. The form is A "nonmagical object" and the Spell is not doing the damage, the object is. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 10, 2018 at 16:51
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    \$\begingroup\$ The form is OF a non-magical object. My flame saber has the form of a non-magical object. Does that mean it's not magical? Plus, you've ignored the very next sentence which explicitly states the object is visibly magical. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 10, 2018 at 16:52
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    \$\begingroup\$ Might want to revise the wording and comparisons a bit. The question is about a non-spell ability of a wizard specialty. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 10, 2018 at 18:39
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    \$\begingroup\$ JC's tweet is specifically about direct damage from a spell and has no bearing in this context. \$\endgroup\$
    – Nick Brown
    Mar 10, 2018 at 18:58
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    \$\begingroup\$ My apologies if this sounds harsh, but the argument that an Arcane Tradition feature doesn't have any bearing on spell casting is utterly inane. It's literally part of the description. More pointedly, right from School of Conjuration - "As a conjurer, you favor spells that produce objects and creatures out of thin air." And the minor conjuration feature is most definitely one of these. While this is a class feature, you have to ignore everything in the Wizard write up to consider this not a magical ability. \$\endgroup\$ Mar 10, 2018 at 19:59

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