Detect Magic "For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any."
If magic is considered to be present in a construct, then the spell can detect it. Some constructs might potentially be considered to be mechanical even if constructed by magic, but that's not an interpretation I'd go by.
One thing I've heard described is that Detect Magic is meant to detect concentrated, deliberate magic such as from a spell or enchantment. It doesn't detect ambient magic in an area or creatures magical in nature... Detect Magic won't detect the presence of Fey or Dragons, despite them being inherently magical, and it won't detect the presence of a Sorcerer.
It's definitely more of a "case-by-case" challenge. Is the construct animated by a spell that someone is concentrating on? 100%, no question, that will be picked up. Is the construct purely mechanical in nature? No, of course not. Is the construct's magic a subtle part of its very nature, such as with a Warforged? In that case it's more like the natural magic present in creatures like Fey or Dragons, so it shouldn't be detected. Is there an inherently magical object used as a power source for the construct? I think that's where things get tricky... I'd probably err on the side of being generous if I was the DM, but at that point it's entirely up to a DM's discretion.
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?
• 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. 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 no-where in its description. Our conclusion: Cold Breath is not considered a magical game effect, even though we know that dragons are amazing, supernatural beings
If the party's wizard has the sense to cast detect magic as they approach the house (he'd better, as there's a glyph of warding on the front door) I think I'll allow him a one-off Wisdom (Perception) check in the hallway to see if he picks up a transmutation aura from the two suits of armour. If he fails, tough luck, the party are in for a surprise!
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Frankly, my dear, I'd rather be listening to Rehn Stillnight.
Would detect magic show an aura around a construct, e.g. animated armour, or would its False Appearance trait still protect it?
There's also a distinction to make between Detect Magic and False Appareance. The former is bout detecting an otherwise invisible dwoemer while the latter is about not distinguishing it from a normal suit of armor based on visible appareance.
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Would detect magic show an aura around a construct, e.g. animated armour, or would its False Appearance trait still protect it?
Frankly, my dear, I'd rather be listening to Rehn Stillnight.
Detect Magic "For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any."
If magic is considered to be present in a construct, then the spell can detect it.
Some constructs might potentially be considered to be mechanical even if constructed by magic, but that's not an interpretation I'd go by.
Thank you. I suspected as much (I wouldn't have asked otherwise) but it's nice to have confirmation.
Frankly, my dear, I'd rather be listening to Rehn Stillnight.
It depend of the Construct but for an Animated Armor, yes since it's magical.
One thing I've heard described is that Detect Magic is meant to detect concentrated, deliberate magic such as from a spell or enchantment. It doesn't detect ambient magic in an area or creatures magical in nature... Detect Magic won't detect the presence of Fey or Dragons, despite them being inherently magical, and it won't detect the presence of a Sorcerer.
It's definitely more of a "case-by-case" challenge. Is the construct animated by a spell that someone is concentrating on? 100%, no question, that will be picked up. Is the construct purely mechanical in nature? No, of course not. Is the construct's magic a subtle part of its very nature, such as with a Warforged? In that case it's more like the natural magic present in creatures like Fey or Dragons, so it shouldn't be detected. Is there an inherently magical object used as a power source for the construct? I think that's where things get tricky... I'd probably err on the side of being generous if I was the DM, but at that point it's entirely up to a DM's discretion.
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Sage Advice is probably what you're thinking https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/sage-advice/sage-advice-compendium
If the party's wizard has the sense to cast detect magic as they approach the house (he'd better, as there's a glyph of warding on the front door) I think I'll allow him a one-off Wisdom (Perception) check in the hallway to see if he picks up a transmutation aura from the two suits of armour. If he fails, tough luck, the party are in for a surprise!
Frankly, my dear, I'd rather be listening to Rehn Stillnight.
There's also a distinction to make between Detect Magic and False Appareance. The former is bout detecting an otherwise invisible dwoemer while the latter is about not distinguishing it from a normal suit of armor based on visible appareance.