Does every damage type have a way to deal nonmagical damage?

Question

The damage types are as follows:

• Acid
• Cold
• Fire
• Force
• Lightning
• Necrotic
• Poison
• Psychic
• Radiant
• Thunder
• Bludgeoning
• Piercing
• Slashing

The last three are the damage types that are given to the weapons listed in the PHB. As such, it is easy to deal nonmagical damage of those types.

But what about the other damage types? I am guessing the DMG specifies a certain amount of fire damage you take if you are standing in a fire, which I assume would be nonmagical.

Are there any official examples in published materials of nonmagical things that would deal damage of these other types?

Answer 1

A player can gain access to all damage types non-magically

Important ruling on what counts as magical

While thedarkwanderer provides a great answer of monster attacks for each damage type, I wanted to see how many could be accomplished by a player. I also tried to select example abilities based on availability to a broader range of characters. This is the priority order: Equipment, Class feature, Racial trait, Situational.

• Acid

  • Acid. [...] make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the acid as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 acid damage.

• Cold

  • Breath Weapon

    Your draconic ancestry [Silver and White yield cold] determines the ... damage type of the exhalation. [...] A creature takes 2d6 damage on a failed save

• Fire

  • Alchemist's Fire. [...] Make a ranged attack against a creature or object, treating the alchemist's fire as an improvised weapon. On a hit, the target takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns.

• Force

  • Planar Warrior

    [...] As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The next time you hit that creature on this turn with a weapon attack, all damage dealt by the attack becomes force damage...

  • Note: While this feature is not magical, force damage is always magical by the description of the damage type:

    Force is pure magical energy focused into a damaging form.

• Lightning

  • Storm’s Fury

    ... when you are hit by a melee attack, you can use your reaction to deal lightning damage to the attacker. The damage equals your sorcerer level.

• Necrotic

  • Quivering Palm

    When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 3 ki points to [cause] the creature [to] make a Constitution saving throw. [...] If it succeeds, it takes 10d10 necrotic damage.

• Poison

  • Poison, basic. A creature hit by the poisoned weapon or ammunition must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or take 1d4 poison damage.

• Psychic

  • Maddening Hex

    [...] When you [cause a psychic disturbance to a target cursed by you as a bonus action], you deal psychic damage to the cursed target and each creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of it. The psychic damage equals your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 damage).

• Radiant (relevant ruling)

  • Improved Divine Smite

    [...] Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage.

• Thunder

  • Divine Strike [Tempest Domain]

    [...] Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 thunder damage to the target.

• Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing
  • These types are present on standard weapons

Answer 2

Yes, there's at least one for each.

• Force

  • Incorporeal Movement: The ghost can move through other creatures and Objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

• Radiant

  • Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on Attack rolls and Ability Checks.

• Necrotic

  • [Vampire Spawn] Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is Grappled by the Vampire, Incapacitated, or Restrained. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.

• Psychic

  • Mind Flayer Tentacles. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 4) psychic damage.

• Thunder

  • Thunder Monger: At 3rd level, you [an artificer who selects the gunsmith specialization] learn to channel thunder energy into your Thunder Cannon. As an action, you can make a special attack with your Thunder Cannon that deals an extra 1d6 thunder damage on a hit.

• Lightning, Fire, Acid, Poison, and Cold

  • [Dragon] Breath (Recharge 5-6): The dragon exhales [element] in a [template]. Each creature in that line must make a [age-dependent] [Dexterity or Constitution] saving throw, taking [amount] [element] damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Answer 3

Yes, plenty

For starters, almost all monster attacks would not be considered magical unless specifically stated. This means that Dragon Breath attacks will already scratch off a large percentage of your types. (Poison, cold, lightning, acid, fire.)

Plenty of undead creatures will deal necrotic damage with their touch, celestials will often have a way of dealing radiant damage that is not classified as magical.

Even players will be able to inflict these kinds of non-magical damage fairly easily. A torch will allow you to deal fire damage, and there are alchemical items you can buy to deal acid damage, for example.

Answer 4

Yes, of course

Hitting someone with an acid splash spell could be described as "magical acid damage" and hitting someone with an acid flask described as "nonmagical acid damage".

But... There isn't really any such thing as "nonmagical damage"

There is such a thing as "damage caused by a non-magical attack" which is applied to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage, to which some monsters have resistance or vulnerability to. For example, a deva is resistant to "bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks".

None¹ of the monsters have damage resistance to something like "fire from non-magical attack" or "radiant from non-magical attack".

The magic item Armor of Invulnerability says, "You have resistance to nonmagical damage" but in it's notes it says, "Resistance: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weapons, Immunity: Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Weapons". (Hat-tip Kamil Drakari.)

What is a "magical attack"? The Monster Manual has this to say.

a magical attack is an attack delivered by a spell, a magic item, or another magical source

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¹ As far as I'm aware. But this is The Internet so I might be corrected².

² Which I was, in about 8 hours.

Answer 5

It depends on what you want to classify as "magic"

The rules distinguish between two types of magic. There is the "background magic" that allows for ghosts and fire-breathing dragons, and there is "focused magic" that creates spell effects.

If we assume that either of the above definitions is magic then only Force, Necrotic, Radiant and Psychic damage are clearly magical, where as most of the other damage types could be produced via nonmagical means as described here:

Acid damage can be caused by acid (obviously). A flask of acid is the most obvious means of achieving this (even though such concoctions are typically described as 'alchemical', its easy to assume this is nonmagical).

Cold damage can be dealt by extreme cold environments.

Fire by fire (as you said)

Lightning damage could conceivably be dealt by getting hit by, well, lightning. Although the chances of this happening without magical means in a typical campaign setting is negligible. Although you may argue that getting hit by lightning is still nonmagical even if it occurs due to being in a more fantastical setting (like a Plane of Eternal Storms or something).

Poison is also generally considered nonmagical, although magical poisons do exist. Many monsters have poisonous stings or bites, and this is usually considered nonmagical.

Thunder damage, caused by a 'sonic attack', is another one that is conceivably nonmagical but it is hard to imagine any nonmagical means of producing such a thing in a fantasy setting.

For the other types:

Force is inherently magical.

Necrotic and radiant being, in a sense, 'unholy' or 'holy' energy is also magical in nature as far as I'm aware.

And lastly, Psychic is also clearly magical (or 'psionic' if you are differentiating but still magic to all intents and purposes).