How Holy Water Works in D&D

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Powerful, unique uses for holy water in D&D 5e
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In Dungeons and Dragons, Holy Water is a common piece of adventuring gear. It deals 2d6 radiant damage to fiends and undead creatures, but otherwise has no use in the game. Holy Water is unique because it’s one of the few magic items in the game players can actually make if they’re a Cleric or Paladin. Here, we’ll cover how Holy Water works, how you make it, and how you can make the item a little more interesting in your games.

Holy Water Overview

Holy Water can be thrown as an improvised weapon. It deals 2d6 radiant damage, but only against fiends and undead creatures. Paladins and Clerics can create Holy Water by performing a 1-hour ritual that consumes 25 gp worth of silver powder.

Section 1 of 4:

What does Holy Water do in D&D 5e?

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  1. The Player’s Handbook states, “As an action, you can splash the contents of this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you or throw it up to 20 feet, shattering it on impact. In either case, make a ranged attack against a target creature, treating the holy water as an improvised weapon. If the target is a fiend or undead, it takes 2d6 radiant damage.” [1]
    • Range: 20/60
    • Damage: 2d6
    • Damage Type: Radiant
    • Works on: Fiends (devils, demons, tielflings, celestials, and others) and undead (liches, ghosts, ghouls, zombies, skeletons)
  2. If you’re playing a Cleric or Paladin, you can create Holy Water at will via a ritual spell that consumes a 1st level spell slot. The spell components are 25 gold pieces (gp) of powdered silver, and the ritual takes 1 hour to complete. [2]
    • In Dungeons & Dragons, a ritual usually refers to any spell that can be completed without spell slots . Think about the 1st-level slot kind of like another spell component you need.
    • What this ritual actually looks like or involves depends entirely on the character performing the ritual! Perhaps a follower of Lolth, the Queen of Spiders, buries the water with a stray spiderweb and performs a prayer. A justiciar of Lathander might expose the water to the sun while infusing it with divine light.
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Section 2 of 4:

Holy Water: Pros and Cons

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  1. The Player’s Handbook is pretty specific about “25 gp worth of powdered silver.” However, the Dungeon Master’s Guide explains silver is 5 grams per pound. So, you need a 5-pound block of silver to craft 25 gp worth of powder. This is a lot of silver to carry just to make one flask of Holy Water. [3]
    • It’s probably difficult for most low-level PCs to grind the silver themselves, presuming they aren’t buying it pre-powdered.
  2. 25 gp is kind of expensive for a common item in D&D, and you can only use Holy Water once. In fact, since you have to throw it, it’s possible you just miss your target and hurl it off into the woods behind the lich you were targeting. But even if you hit, it’s only 2d6 radiant damage. That’s as much as one strike from a greatsword! [4]
    • This isn’t to say that there isn’t an important place for Holy Water. Most demons in the game, for example, are vulnerable to radiant damage.
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Section 3 of 4:

Homebrew Holy Water Ideas for DMs

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  1. If you’re running a game of D&D, consider changing the price of Holy Water to make it more attractive for your players—especially early in the game if they’re starting at a lower level. At 25 gp, Holy Water is kind of a tough buy to justify, so either sprinkle it in reward items and treasure, or reduce the price when players go shopping.
    • As a DM, you’re free to interpret what 25 gp of silver actually is. Maybe the silver powder is only 1% actual silver and it’s mixed with sand or something. It doesn’t need to be pure silver if you don’t want it to be!
  2. Maybe your cleric gets a buff to their healing spells for carrying some of their God’s holy water on them. Perhaps your paladin’s divine smite gets a minor damage increase if the player is carrying a cask of Holy Water. If you make the item more powerful, players will be more inclined to use it.
    • You could also create some kind of party bonus when it comes to undead encounters or fights against fiends; maybe your party gets to roll charisma saves at advantage, or everyone becomes immune to being frightened.
  3. The Dungeon Master’s Guide covers rules for poisons, oils, and weapon coatings. While it doesn’t include Holy Water in the list of potential options, it seems like a logical inclusion in the list if you’d like to make that call. Letting your players coat their weapons in Holy Water is a fun way to make encounters with powerful ghouls, liches, or revenants much more explosive!
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Section 4 of 4:

Fun Improvisational Uses for Holy Water

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  1. If you’re adventuring in the Underdark or exploring a deep dungeon, you may encounter some dangerous creatures who get an advantage fighting in the dark. Instead of lighting your way with a torch, consider casting the Light spell on a flask of Holy Water. This way, you can make your way without taking your hands off of a powerful combat tool if you get surprised.
    • It’s possible that enchanted Holy Water even keeps some creepy crawlies at bay in a way that a torch or other forms of artificial light don’t!
  2. Dust of Dryness allows you to turn a cube of water into a marble-sized pellet. You can throw this pellet to cause the water to expand back into its normal liquid. If you use Holy Water, it’ll explode if you throw it on a fiend or undead creature! You can even put the beads in a sling or slingshot to create an anti-creeper grenade launcher. [5]
  3. Is your character looking to get rich? Are you playing an evil character or a chaotic PC with a loose understanding of trade ethics? If so, why not “cut” the Holy Water with boring old tap water? Rebottle it and sell it to rubes you come across in the game. Easy money!
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      Tips

      • Holy Water has a fun doppelganger in the game—Alchemist’s Fire. It’s basically bottled fire—you throw it as an action and it shatters on impact to create a fire. [6]
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      References

      1. ↑ https://orkerhulen.dk/onewebmedia/DnD%205e%20Players%20Handbook%20%28BnW%20OCR%29.pdf
      2. ↑ https://orkerhulen.dk/onewebmedia/DnD%205e%20Players%20Handbook%20%28BnW%20OCR%29.pdf
      3. ↑ http://solternion.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/112990231/D&D%205E%20-%20DMG.pdf
      4. ↑ https://orkerhulen.dk/onewebmedia/DnD%205e%20Players%20Handbook%20%28BnW%20OCR%29.pdf
      5. ↑ https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Dust%20of%20Dryness#content
      6. ↑ https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Alchemist's%20Fire#content

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