Holy Water: flasks or vials?

[aspiringlich]

Holy water costs 25 gp per flask, which weighs 1 lb. On the equipment list, there is a vial "for ink, potion, or holy water," which weighs 1/10 lb (presumably when filled). So, it seems that 1 flask of holy water can be divided into 10 vials. Now here's my question: if one vial of holy water were thrown at an undead monster, would it do 1d8 hp damage? If so, that means that for a mere 25 gp, an average of 40 hp damage can be inflicted by throwing 10 vials of holy water. That seems excessively powerful to me. So, does a full flask of holy water need to be thrown to do the full 1d8 damage or is a vial sufficient?

[Urieal]

I'd go with 1 flask = 1d8, therefore 10 vials = just annoying...not potent enough for "real" damage. Splitting them up seems to raise my munchkin hackles.

[aspiringlich]

That's what I decided too. It also says in the Missile Weapons section of LL that holy water can't be put into different containers from the one it was blessed in without it becoming desecrated, so I'm going to say that 1/10 lb is how much the vial weighs when empty, and when filled it's 1 lb, same as the usual flask of holy water, and that does 1d8 damage when thrown.

[kingius]

I agree, splitting it up sounds like players trying to game the system. I'd probably rule that if the holy water leaves the flask and is poured into a vial then it ceases to be holy water due to the mysteries of the gods.

[aspiringlich]

To be fair to my players, I was the one who thought this was OK at first and actually suggested it to them, only later to think the matter through a bit more deeply. They haven't started adventuring yet, so it's an easy thing to fix before they set out.

[kingius]

I know the feeling. It can be hard to make a split second decision that will affect the whole campaign and always get it right. I'm starting to work under the assumption that any suggestions for rules changes, or additions, should always be framed against the existing rules and lead to something that is never quite as good as what is already there. This helps to keep things balanced.