<s>
Dragon	B-Protocol
kill	I-Protocol
points	I-Protocol
or	O
DKP	O
are	O
a	O
semi-formal	O
score-keeping	O
system	O
(	O
loot	O
system	O
)	O
used	O
by	O
guilds	O
in	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
games	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
in	O
these	O
games	O
are	O
faced	O
with	O
large	O
scale	O
challenges	O
,	O
or	O
raids	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
may	O
only	O
be	O
surmounted	O
through	O
the	O
concerted	O
effort	O
of	O
dozens	O
of	O
players	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Used	O
originally	O
in	O
the	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
role-playing	O
game	O
EverQuest	B-Protocol
,	O
dragon	B-Protocol
kill	I-Protocol
points	I-Protocol
are	O
points	O
that	O
are	O
awarded	O
to	O
players	O
for	O
defeating	O
bosses	O
and	O
redeemed	O
for	O
items	O
that	O
those	O
bosses	O
would	O
"	O
drop	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Dragon	B-Protocol
kill	I-Protocol
points	I-Protocol
are	O
distinct	O
from	O
the	O
virtual	O
currencies	O
in	O
each	O
game	O
world	O
which	O
are	O
designed	O
by	O
the	O
game	O
developers	O
;	O
DKP	O
systems	O
vary	O
from	O
guild	O
to	O
guild	O
and	O
the	O
points	O
themselves	O
only	O
have	O
value	O
in	O
regard	O
to	O
the	O
dispersal	O
of	O
boss	O
"	O
loot	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DKP	O
systems	O
were	O
first	O
designed	O
for	O
Everquest	B-Protocol
in	O
1999	O
by	O
Thott	B-Protocol
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
a	O
guild	O
called	O
"	O
Afterlife	O
"	O
and	O
named	O
for	O
two	O
dragons	O
,	O
Lady	O
Vox	O
and	O
Lord	O
Nagafen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
adapted	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
other	O
similar	O
online	O
games	O
,	O
in	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
for	O
example	O
an	O
Avatar	O
named	O
Dragonkiller	O
started	O
its	O
popular	O
use	O
and	O
other	O
programmers	O
designed	O
applications	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
system	O
could	O
work	O
in	O
game	O
as	O
an	O
application	O
to	O
track	O
data	O
for	O
achievements	O
made	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
pen	O
and	O
paper	O
or	O
more	O
traditional	O
role-playing	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
massively	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
games	I-Application
could	O
present	O
challenges	O
so	O
significant	O
that	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
players	O
required	O
to	O
defeat	O
them	O
would	O
greatly	O
exceed	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
items	O
awarded	O
to	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
following	O
the	O
boss	O
kill	O
—	O
a	O
raid	B-Protocol
of	O
25	O
individuals	O
may	O
only	O
see	O
two	O
or	O
three	O
items	O
"	O
drop	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Raid	B-Protocol
encounters	O
may	O
involve	O
"	O
10-200	O
players	O
organized	O
to	O
achieve	O
a	O
common	O
goal	O
over	O
a	O
period	O
of	O
typically	O
around	O
3-6	O
continuous	O
hours	O
"	O
and	O
demand	O
teamwork	O
and	O
competence	O
from	O
all	O
raid	B-Protocol
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
"	O
endgame	O
"	O
,	O
new	O
items	O
rewarded	O
from	O
boss	O
kills	O
represent	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
only	O
means	O
to	O
continue	O
to	O
enhance	O
the	O
combat	O
effectiveness	O
of	O
the	O
character	O
or	O
the	O
social	B-Protocol
standing	I-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
the	I-Protocol
player	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guilds	O
facing	O
smaller	O
challenges	O
with	O
fewer	O
players	O
typically	O
begin	O
by	O
allotting	O
items	O
through	O
a	O
simulated	B-Algorithm
roll	I-Algorithm
of	O
the	O
dice	O
(	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
software	O
serving	O
the	O
game	O
itself	O
)	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
dice	O
rolls	O
used	O
to	O
dictate	O
the	O
outcome	O
of	O
contingent	O
events	O
in	O
pen	O
and	O
paper	O
role-playing	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
are	O
given	O
points	O
for	O
participating	O
in	O
raids	B-Protocol
or	O
other	O
guild	O
events	O
and	O
spend	O
those	O
points	O
on	O
the	O
item	O
of	O
their	O
choice	O
when	O
the	O
boss	O
'	O
drops	O
 '	O
the	O
item	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
player	O
who	O
does	O
not	O
get	O
a	O
chance	O
to	O
spend	O
their	O
DKP	O
accumulates	O
it	O
between	O
raids	B-Protocol
and	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
spend	O
it	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zero-sum	O
DKP	O
systems	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
ensure	O
the	O
net	O
change	O
in	O
points	O
among	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
is	O
zero	O
for	O
each	O
item	O
dropped	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
name	O
might	O
suggest	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
who	O
has	O
the	O
highest	O
DKP	O
total	O
receives	O
the	O
item	O
for	O
its	O
specified	O
price	O
and	O
the	O
same	O
number	O
of	O
points	O
are	O
divided	O
evenly	O
among	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
and	O
given	O
out	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
no	O
net	O
change	O
to	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
total	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
would	O
only	O
be	O
rewarded	O
DKP	O
if	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
player	O
desired	O
the	O
item	O
dropped	O
by	O
the	O
boss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
simplest	O
DKP	O
variation	O
is	O
one	O
where	O
every	O
item	O
has	O
a	O
set	O
price	O
list	O
and	O
each	O
player	O
earns	O
some	O
specified	O
number	O
of	O
DKP	O
each	O
time	O
they	O
participate	O
in	O
a	O
guild	O
raid	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
zero-sum	O
,	O
a	O
simple	O
DKP	O
system	O
does	O
not	O
compensate	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
based	O
in	O
the	O
value	O
of	O
the	O
items	O
received	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Points	O
are	O
awarded	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
at	O
some	O
specified	O
rate	O
and	O
when	O
the	O
items	O
are	O
awarded	O
to	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
group	O
,	O
players	O
bid	O
DKP	O
for	O
the	O
item	O
of	O
their	O
choice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
system	O
was	O
introduced	O
to	O
support	O
individuals	O
without	O
a	O
guild	O
to	O
support	O
raids	B-Protocol
for	O
difficult	O
bosses/zones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
if	O
20	O
members	O
were	O
in	O
the	O
group	O
,	O
and	O
500	O
gold	O
was	O
spent	O
on	O
items	O
,	O
each	O
raid	B-Protocol
participant	O
would	O
receive	O
25	O
gold	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
as	O
DKP	O
is	O
valueless	O
outside	O
the	O
guild	O
,	O
parlaying	O
of	O
economic	O
capital	O
for	O
DKP	O
(	O
paying	B-Application
real	I-Application
world	I-Application
currency	I-Application
in	O
exchange	O
for	O
DKP	O
)	O
is	O
almost	O
unheard	O
of	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
guilds	O
mete	O
out	O
DKP	O
in	O
return	O
for	O
participation	O
in	O
events	O
,	O
the	O
functional	O
result	O
is	O
that	O
DKP	O
serve	O
less	O
as	O
currency	O
or	O
material	O
capital	O
and	O
more	O
as	O
what	O
Torill	O
Mortensen	O
refers	O
to	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
social	O
stabilizer	O
"	O
;	O
players	O
who	O
attend	O
raids	B-Protocol
more	O
frequently	O
or	O
play	O
by	O
the	O
rules	O
reap	O
the	O
rewards	O
while	O
more	O
"	O
casual	O
"	O
gamers	O
do	O
not	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
the	O
guild	O
,	O
DKP	O
may	O
stand	O
in	O
for	O
competence	O
—	O
high	O
level	O
items	O
(	O
Krista-Lee	O
Malone	O
mentions	O
a	O
specific	O
item	O
from	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Warcraft	I-Protocol
,	O
the	O
"	O
Cold	O
Snap	O
"	O
wand	O
)	O
are	O
forms	O
of	O
cultural	O
capital	O
themselves	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
the	O
items	O
are	O
"	O
bound	O
"	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
who	O
first	O
receives	O
them	O
,	O
the	O
only	O
way	O
to	O
wield	O
a	O
desired	O
item	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
raid	B-Protocol
that	O
defeated	O
the	O
boss	O
which	O
rewards	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
