Comes from an issue I had running a game, I threw in a small silly miracle for flavour (a small fountain) but one of the players cast detect magic which made me thing; are gods magical? are their miracles magical? I can't find anything which sheds light on this, I can find some detail that magic can be arcane or divine, but that doesn't really help? Gods can grant magical powers but are their direct miracles magical?
D&D 5e is deliberately vague on Gods and how they work. Very, very few D&D Gods are statted and there's a lot of room for DM interpretation in how they work.
A Miracle might not necessarily be considered "Magic" for certain purposes... like a Miracle might be unaffected by an Antimagic Field.
That said, objects blessed by Gods are, unless the DM gives some kind of reason for it not to be, considered to be Magic Items. So a fountain Blessed by a God would be considered a Magic Item and what effects it has could be determined by a Identify.
But also keep in mind that Identify simply reveals a Magic Items functional use. So if all the fountain does is produce clean water, that's all the player would learn from Identify. If it doesn't functionally do anything (like if it's just a God using their influence to create a fountain that attaches to an existing spring), then Identify won't really reveal anything.
The fountain itself might be just a fountain. if the god simply created a mundane everyday fountain then that's all it is. But, if it has some sort of special properties, like healing waters or something, then that should qualify it as magical probably.
IMHO, the act of creating the fountain and the location of it are the miracle, and therefore magical. The continued existence and operation of the fountain could also be considered miraculous, but the mechanics allowing for this could have also been brought about at creation. So, from my standpoint, the physical object that popped into existence, not so much. If the fountain provides some effect other than "water makes wet", like curing illness, removing curses, bless spell effect... that type of thing, then the waters would ping under detect magic as would the vessel that is creating them (looking at you Dragon Vessel).
One of the core assumptions in the DMG is that Gods grant divine magic to their followers. As a DM, you get to decide how this actually happens. Are the Gods themselves the source of the magic, or are the Gods the conduits from the Weave to the user through which magical power flows. Maybe you have a method of how that power makes it to the user, whatever works. The stronger the connection, the stronger the magical power in either case.
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I can't find anything which sheds light on this, I can find some detail that magic can be arcane or divine, but that doesn't really help?
What you seem to be thinking of as "magic" is Arcane magic. Stuff the gods do such as miracles fall under Divine magic, just like Cleric spells. The DM can certainly rule otherwise, but this is kind of the default in D&D.
I can't find anything which sheds light on this, I can find some detail that magic can be arcane or divine, but that doesn't really help?
What you seem to be thinking of as "magic" is Arcane magic. Stuff the gods do such as miracles fall under Divine magic, just like Cleric spells. The DM can certainly rule otherwise, but this is kind of the default in D&D.
To the extent there is a "right or wrong" answer here, this seems the most correct one. PCs at level 20 achieve some god-like capabilities. There are instances in D&D 5E canon where mortal beings defeated gods and achieved godhood. So their magic is essentially made of the same "stuff"... albeit seriously OP.
So it would show up with a detect magic spell as it is magic?
No. And then maybe. But definitely up to you in the end.
The act is magical, but not the object left behind. If the object left behind provides a magical benefit then it might ping as magical. All of this works the way that you have decided that magic and the gods work in your world. (See Also: DMG - The Big Picture, Gods of Your World, and Magic in Your World)
If your real question is: How do Gods get their magic, and how does it work? Answer might be: We can't tell you how it runs at your table, only how it might traditionally run in novels, lore and in our own games.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
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Comes from an issue I had running a game, I threw in a small silly miracle for flavour (a small fountain) but one of the players cast detect magic which made me thing; are gods magical? are their miracles magical? I can't find anything which sheds light on this, I can find some detail that magic can be arcane or divine, but that doesn't really help? Gods can grant magical powers but are their direct miracles magical?
Any help or views would be usefully.
P.S. I found this, but it doesn't really help in this regard https://youtu.be/USqR_-pcXAw
D&D 5e is deliberately vague on Gods and how they work. Very, very few D&D Gods are statted and there's a lot of room for DM interpretation in how they work.
A Miracle might not necessarily be considered "Magic" for certain purposes... like a Miracle might be unaffected by an Antimagic Field.
That said, objects blessed by Gods are, unless the DM gives some kind of reason for it not to be, considered to be Magic Items. So a fountain Blessed by a God would be considered a Magic Item and what effects it has could be determined by a Identify.
But also keep in mind that Identify simply reveals a Magic Items functional use. So if all the fountain does is produce clean water, that's all the player would learn from Identify. If it doesn't functionally do anything (like if it's just a God using their influence to create a fountain that attaches to an existing spring), then Identify won't really reveal anything.
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Arguably, depending on game world, the answer could be either yes or no.
My personal assumption is that basically anything gods do, should they exist, would qualify as divine magic.
The fountain itself might be just a fountain. if the god simply created a mundane everyday fountain then that's all it is. But, if it has some sort of special properties, like healing waters or something, then that should qualify it as magical probably.
I got quotes!
IMHO, the act of creating the fountain and the location of it are the miracle, and therefore magical. The continued existence and operation of the fountain could also be considered miraculous, but the mechanics allowing for this could have also been brought about at creation. So, from my standpoint, the physical object that popped into existence, not so much. If the fountain provides some effect other than "water makes wet", like curing illness, removing curses, bless spell effect... that type of thing, then the waters would ping under detect magic as would the vessel that is creating them (looking at you Dragon Vessel).
One of the core assumptions in the DMG is that Gods grant divine magic to their followers. As a DM, you get to decide how this actually happens. Are the Gods themselves the source of the magic, or are the Gods the conduits from the Weave to the user through which magical power flows. Maybe you have a method of how that power makes it to the user, whatever works. The stronger the connection, the stronger the magical power in either case.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
What you seem to be thinking of as "magic" is Arcane magic. Stuff the gods do such as miracles fall under Divine magic, just like Cleric spells. The DM can certainly rule otherwise, but this is kind of the default in D&D.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
So it would show up with a detect magic spell as it is magic?
To the extent there is a "right or wrong" answer here, this seems the most correct one. PCs at level 20 achieve some god-like capabilities. There are instances in D&D 5E canon where mortal beings defeated gods and achieved godhood. So their magic is essentially made of the same "stuff"... albeit seriously OP.
No. And then maybe. But definitely up to you in the end.
The act is magical, but not the object left behind. If the object left behind provides a magical benefit then it might ping as magical. All of this works the way that you have decided that magic and the gods work in your world. (See Also: DMG - The Big Picture, Gods of Your World, and Magic in Your World)
If your real question is: How do Gods get their magic, and how does it work? Answer might be: We can't tell you how it runs at your table, only how it might traditionally run in novels, lore and in our own games.
Edit: clarification
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad