Arelith

Long story short, Acid bombs are a key tool for slowing people down and utalised by many.

Unfortunately, they harm neutral NPCs. More often than not, this has resulted in NPCs being killed or dragged into battles between players. There are slim few mobility denial options for mundanes, and this one causes a lot of issues simply because of NPCs getting thrown in the mix.

Very simply put, it shouldn't apply acid damage to non-hostile NPCs.

Alternatively, give us a usable item made by a tailor that's a ranged touch attack that simply gives someone a -50% move speed for 3 seconds. A bolo - a catch up device.

It's an Acid "Bomb", bomb being the bit that matters most I think here, generally speaking they're indiscriminate by nature.

As for the Bolo, I can see a few balance implications with this, such as a group of 3 or 4 throwing them in rotation or repeatedly so others of the same number can catch up easily.
Which while this sounds fine on paper it is stopping escape via a mundane means without a save, which is where the problems come from.

Edit:
Upon reviewing the discussions around this I am putting my vote against the idea, in favour of denial.
If anything it hilighted how odd it is that the acid bombs DON'T have a save rather than a need to add a new and more powerful change or alternative.

Rejected.

This sounds like one of those devices that should not be party / neutral friendly and should have consequences for their use in particular spaces.