Variant Holy Materials

In campaigns designed around fighting evil forces such as fiends or undead, some players may desire to seek out or craft items created specifically for fighting such monsters. This variant rule modifies the PHB entry for holy water, adds a new piece of adventuring gear named holy oil, and provides rules for crafting both of these items.

Holy Water

As an action, you can splash the contents of this flask onto a creature within 5 feet of you by making a melee weapon attack or throw it up to 20 feet by making a ranged weapon attack, shattering the flask on impact. In either case, treat the holy water as an improvised weapon which deals piercing damage. If the target is a fiend or undead, it takes additional radiant damage as indicated by the Holy Water table on a hit.

Holy Oil

You can use the oil in this vial to coat one slashing or piercing weapon or up to ten pieces of ammunition. Applying the oil takes 1 minute. A fiend or undead creature hit by the oiled weapon or ammunition takes an additional amount of radiant damage described in the Holy Oil table. Once applied, the oil retains potency for an hour before drying.

Crafting Holy Materials

A cleric, paladin, or creature that can cast ceremony may create holy water or holy oil by performing a special ritual. The ritual takes 1 hour to perform, uses an amount of powdered silver which is consumed through the ritual, and requires the caster to expend a spell slot as indicated by the tables below.

This ritual is easier to perform when working on hallowed ground, or with consecrated components. The DM may decide that the location where the ritual is performed is especially suited to the creation of holy materials and decide to waive the expenditure of a spell slot.

Holy Water

Holy Oil

These rules were initially created by Dave Szatkowski for a Curse of Strahd campaign.