I've looked in many places and I keep getting conflicting answers so here is my conundrum: A dragon's breath is not considered magical because it (1)is not a magic item, (2)is not a spell or (3)have the effects of a mentioned spell, and (4)not described as magical. All of these work for a dragon's breath:
Acid Breath (Recharge 5–6). The dragon exhales acid in a 60-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw, taking 54 (12d8) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
And it also works for PHB's Dragonborn:
Breath Weapon. You can use your action to exhale destructive energy. Your draconic ancestry determines the size, shape, and damage type of the exhalation.
But the problem comes with FToD's Dragonborn:
Breath Weapon. When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with an exhalation of magical energy in a [15-foot cone/30-foot line].
FToD specifically mentions that the attack is magical in nature, which should mean the breath is magical, but it does not mention magic for an actual dragon's breath.
So which is it? Do we make a distinction between the Dragonborn and the Dragons? That would seem strange to me.
Dragonborn aren't actually Dragons, but in any case, you've answered your own question: PHB Dragonborn breath isn't magical while FToD Dragonborn breath is. Note that neither is an attack, as both are save-based.
FToD specifically mentions that the attack is magical in nature, which should mean the breath is magical, but it does not mention magic for an actual dragon's breath.
So which is it? Do we make a distinction between the Dragonborn and the Dragons? That would seem strange to me.
Why is it strange? They are different creatures.
According to lore, dragonborn are less directly related to dragons than kobolds are. Yeah, let that sink in...
As far as rules go, if it says magical its magical, if not it isn't. Honestly, what is weird is that some dragonborn have magical breath and some have regular element breath. But the old dragonborn sucked, so who cares.
FToD Dragon Breath is magical since it say so according to Official ruling in SAC. I expect the PHB Dragonborn feature to be magical too in the upcoming revision.
Is the breath weapon of a dragon magical? If you cast antimagic field, don armor of invulnerability, or use another feature of the game that protects against magical or nonmagical effects, you might ask yourself, “Will this protect me against a dragon’s breath?” The breath weapon of a typical dragon isn’t considered magical, so antimagic field won’t help you but armor of invulnerability will.
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?
Does its description say it’s magical?
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. 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.
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I've looked in many places and I keep getting conflicting answers so here is my conundrum: A dragon's breath is not considered magical because it (1)is not a magic item, (2)is not a spell or (3)have the effects of a mentioned spell, and (4)not described as magical. All of these work for a dragon's breath:
And it also works for PHB's Dragonborn:
But the problem comes with FToD's Dragonborn:
FToD specifically mentions that the attack is magical in nature, which should mean the breath is magical, but it does not mention magic for an actual dragon's breath.
So which is it? Do we make a distinction between the Dragonborn and the Dragons? That would seem strange to me.
Dragonborn aren't actually Dragons, but in any case, you've answered your own question: PHB Dragonborn breath isn't magical while FToD Dragonborn breath is. Note that neither is an attack, as both are save-based.
Why is it strange? They are different creatures.
According to lore, dragonborn are less directly related to dragons than kobolds are. Yeah, let that sink in...
As far as rules go, if it says magical its magical, if not it isn't. Honestly, what is weird is that some dragonborn have magical breath and some have regular element breath. But the old dragonborn sucked, so who cares.
FToD Dragon Breath is magical since it say so according to Official ruling in SAC. I expect the PHB Dragonborn feature to be magical too in the upcoming revision.
Is the breath weapon of a dragon magical? If you cast antimagic field, don armor of invulnerability, or use another feature of the game that protects against magical or nonmagical effects, you might ask yourself, “Will this protect me against a dragon’s breath?” The breath weapon of a typical dragon isn’t considered magical, so antimagic field won’t help you but armor of invulnerability will.
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:
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:
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. 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.