D&D 5E Sun Blade vs Darkness spell?

[Plaguescarred]

In comparison, a Driftglobe specifically emanate the Light or Daylight spell and could dispel Darkness.

 

[Fanaelialae]

The sun sword calls out the light it emits as sunlight. To me, actual sunlight produced by something other than the sun is most certainly magical rather than natural.

I agree with you, except that the light emitted from these items is an explicit part of their magical properties. That makes their particular light magical, rather than natural.

Those are legitimate ways of looking at it, but as I see it, interpreting it as a natural phenomenon is equally legitimate. It just depends on where you want to draw the line.

If the "blade" of the sun blade is concentrated magical sunlight, then it is reasonable that the photons it emits are consistent with natural sunlight if you rule that secondary phenomena are non-magical. Much like how a Flame Tongue sword could produce light as a natural consequence of the supernatural flames that line the blade. It would be far more supernatural to me if either of these blades functioned without emitting light, given their nature.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Darkness can not be illuminated by nonmagical light and diapells spells that shed light of level 2 or lower. Notice that it also quenches flaming spheres. It also cancels darkvision. But it does not prevent magical light sources from illuminating areas of darkness.

 

[Werebat]

If the light from the Sun Blade is nonmagical sunlight, it will not dispel Darkness because neither would normal sunlight.

If it is magical sunlight, then the question is whether or not it counts as a 3rd level or higher spell. The sword's description doesn't say, so it becomes a DM's call.

The blade says that the sunlight produced is "sunlight", so I would rule that it functions as sunlight. The Darkness spell suppresses sunlight. But that is my call as a DM.

 

[thethain]

Basically, the sunlight is smothered that is within the area of Darkness. The sunblade itself is not dispelled and it cannot dispel the darkness as darkness only has special interactions with light from SPELLS. So your blade is still working, but there is no sunlight within the darkness. You could still stab someone in the darkness and deal radiant damage (if you can see them).

 

[jaelis]

Since a sunblade is basically a light saber, just ask yourself how a light saber would work To me the answer is easy, the blade remains visible but it doesn't illuminate anything else in the darkness.