Winstonian
Grandmaster
Current UO:F PvPers:
(Expl pots! Expl pots! Expl pots!)
Almost everyone throws expl pots. It's an accepted item used during PvP now, and not only to "stop people from running": it's used throughout fights - not just the beginning - as another means of damaging the opponent. They don't splash properly, don't require the alchemy skill to deal damage, and heat-seek... and it doesn't appear that it's an item that's going anywhere anytime soon. So be it.
Expl pots currently don't have a counter... a way to lessen or negate their damage. Why not tweak that? Instead of adjusting expl pot mechanics, why not tweak an often-neglected skill that could use a boost: parrying. Like those spartan guys did:
(This could be YOU!)
tl;dr - make it so parrying can parry expl pots.