Damage over Time, or DoT (or just dot/dots) can refer
to any type of skill or spell which, logically, deals
damage over a period of time after it is dealt, instead
of dealing it all at once.  Although this is a common
game term, in Retromud it can also refer specifically to
a newer bit of code which wizards can use.  For instance,
"X skill has been converted to the DoT system".