Let's say it shows up as a magic item property. What then?
I get sad and 5e moves down that spectrum of being a game I really, really want to buy and run it being a game I need work at to run.
I have a lot of other RPGs on the shelf at the moment waiting for an opportunity to be played. And I'm going to GenCon this year and I really cannot afford it, so any money I can save is a bonus.
My table is already not sold on 5e, enjoying the customization of Pathfinder.
I don't think these "flame wars" are worthy of consideration, except as a shining example of how damaged and dysfunctional the D&D community is, that something so piddling and minor is suddenly a hill worth dying on. I think it's become a symbol, now, and the mechanic itself is just a proxy for the gaming community's issues.
It’s as “piddling” as any pet peeve.
Damage on a Miss actually has some deeper tension if you think about it. Because it’s a mechanic people are trying to take away from martials but keep in spells in brings in all the Quadratic Wizards vs Linear Fighter feelings, and the whole “fighters can’t have anything nice” crowd.
As DoaM was featured heavily in 4e, it also includes some of the edition wars tension. Many 4e fans are clinging to it as a symbol of 4e gameplay
Because some of the problems people have with DoaM are descriptive in nature (a “miss” still being a “hit”) it involves the gamist versus simulationist versus narrativist conflict.
DoaM also ties into the nature of hitpoints, with hitpoints as meat or as skill or energy, or what ratio of each.
I’ve described it as “the Captain Power of Flame Wars”. Although "the Devastator of Flame Wars" also works, if you're a Transformers fan.
But it certainly has become a great example of how damaged the D&D community is, and WotC’s apathy to their fans. If Mearls and the rest would address the topic, come onto the forums or do a blog post addressing the subject, it would help. We’d know their answer and know they at least listened to us before making a decision. They could so surveys on the website. Instead, we get casual tweets and jokes.
This is sadly typical. WotC just ignores the fans and lets the community burn. They have no interest in engaging with us except on a very limited basis on their terms.They talk at us and not with us.