One of the most basic things that can cause drama around any loot system is players not understanding it, or the raid leader not explaining it clearly. Nightbane uses a Loot Council as it's raid loot distribution system at the beginning of Cataclysm endgame raiding.

How the Loot Council Works:

1. The first thing you need to know about a loot council is that it is intended to be used for Nightbane Raids and only on Epic Quality Items and above.

2. The loot council is made up of the guild officers and leader who are actively playing and involved in endgame raiding.

3. Raids are run with Master Loot on and one of the Loot Council will have control.

4. When Epic Quality items drop they will be linked in raid chat one at a time. Members that would like to be considered for the item will link what they will be replacing in raid chat.

5. The Members of the Loot Council will then make a decision as to who should receive the item based on several factors:

Gear Comparison

How much of an improvement will the new item make compared to the current gear worn by the member.

Reliability

How often does the member attend raids (or waiting on Standby) compared to the other members interested. Obviously we want to give the gear to someone who will be available on future raids not only for progression but so that they can help others receive pretty purple gear as well.

Role in the Raid Group

Obviously it is absolutely critical that certain positions receive preference so that the guild can continue to progress through the content. The main example of this would be the Main Tank, this person will receive a priority on loot because if they can't survive boss encounters no one will be able to get gear.

What is best for the Guild

When it comes to loot we have to make decisions based on the best interests of the guild.

Fair Loot

The Loot Council will look at how many drops that a member has already received. There is an addon we can use to track who gets what so we can go back into the past and take a look.

Time In Guild

Time in the guild is used as a factor because we need to have a way to determine someone's overall dependability.

Their other contributions to the guild

If we have people that are equal in everyway that both need the item this is a tie breaker factor used by the loot council.

Mains over Alts

Obviously main Characters would always receive loot over an Alt, this is not to say that Alts will never receive Raid Gear, but they should not expect to receive it over a Main Character.

6. The Members of the Loot Council Discuss the issue in Officer Chat and once a decision is made the announcement to the winner will be made and the loot distributed.

7. Once the decision is made the item is then given to the person that the Loot Council selected and the group moves on

8. No public complaints are allowed after distribution, all discussion must be with a loot council member. We will not tolerate loot drama during a raid, if you have a problem with the way something was handled it is to be discussed after the raid with an officer or Pred either in Ventrilo or through PM's on the forums.

9. THERE WILL NEVER BE CHANGES TO THIS SYSTEM MADE DURING A RUN. Any changes to the Loot Council will be discussed as a guild far in advance of them being implemented in game. Notifications of impending changes will be communicated through the Website and via in-game mail to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to respond and make comments on any proposed changes.