History Main / RandomNumberGod

* Combat in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' is notoriously based around random numbers. That is, each time the player attacks, the RNG is used to determine whether they hit or missed the opponent. The chance is changed depending on the player character's skills, but in the early game you can expect to miss almost every single time — even if you're standing an inch away from the opponent and strike well within their hit box.

* In the {{Roguelike}} communities where [[TropeNamer the term originated]], finding a very good item early in the game is a sure sign that the rest of it is going to be a hellish struggle against the wrath of the RandomNumberGod. It's given you your one good thing, now it's going to do its damnedest to kill you.
** The ultimate item in this is an Amulet of Life Saving, which effectively gives you an extra life (in Roguelikes, if you die, that's normally it -- your ([[SaveGameLimits one]]) save game is erased). If you find one of these early, rest assured the game is going to maneuver you into a situation where even instant resurrection will not help you. After all, if something is tough enough to kill you once, it can probably do it a second time... Paradoxically, "lucky finds" like this that should improve your chances of survival will just make players incredibly paranoid and even ''more'' cautious.
** Added as a character in ''VideoGame/{{TOME}}'' (and its parent game, ''VideoGame/ZAngband''). Random Number Gods are weak, annoying, fast multiplying monsters that drop decent loot -- and cause confusion.
** In Rogue itself the rng has been known to get locked into repeating a number way more often then chance would suggest, causing low percentage events (usually of the unfortunate variety) to happen repeatedly.
** Jehora Jeheyu in ''VideoGame/DesktopDungeons'' is, quite literally, a Random Number God. In-universe, he's the God of Primordial Chaos. Every time you carry out one of his favored actions, there's an equal chance of him granting you piety and him nailing you with a status effect... unless you take his "Petition" boon, which is basically begging him to stop punishing you. One of his boons, which costs all your piety, can either do nothing at all or fully restore your HP and MP (with a higher chance of working the more piety you have).

* The RNG manifests in ''VideoGame/BillyVsSNAKEMAN'' as a monster that players in a village (read: clan) can fight. While all other monsters of that class have accurate HitPoints displays, the RNG has nonsensical numbers or words to represent remaining and total life. It also shows up during [[HolidayMode The Festival,]] where it runs a game where you roll ten dice; anything higher than a one gets you an obscenely valuable item. The item cannot be obtained there because you only ever roll ten ones. Getting it actually requires completing an entirely different quest.
** Players who have become aware of higher-dimensional spaces may start to briefly encounter the RNG in other locations, and one of the more traumatic experiences during a quest is briefly seeing it in its true form.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', it's customary to use the /roll command a few times before rolling for a specific piece of equipment to please the RandomNumberGod and to get the low numbers "[[ArtisticLicenseStatistics out of the way]]". In addition, there are persistent (but frequently debunked) rumors that the game seeds the random number generator according to specific criteria, including, but not limited to, the raid leader, the first person entering the dungeon and/or the number of damage-over-time spells ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtvIYRrgZ04 more dots!]]) on the boss.
** The developers are equally sadistic with this. Two of the Achievements involved having to get 100 on rolls to Need or Greed loot (once the system was redesigned to distribute loot drops automatically). It can take as long to get those to come up as specific, desperately wanted gear.
* The ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' community has taken to naming their God [=RNGesus=]. With a significant number of cards having [=RNG=]-based effects, many streamers [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClYoiv338Uk actually ''pray'']] to [=RNGesus=] when they need a random effect to go the way they need. There's also the most random card in the entire game that also happens to be a god. When someone plays Yogg-Saron, for each spell the player played, he'll cast a totally random spell on a totally random target. He can either win the game with a board wipe, a ton of token minions, and/or large heals, or completely throw the game by buffing an enemy minion, make you overdraw cards to the point of Fatigue damage, or Pyroblasting you in the face. Anywhere between turning the game around and throwing a winning game has happened with Yogg-Saron.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' players have adopted the RNGesus meme from Hearthstone. Those who repeatedly fail to win his favour occasionally turn to Lootcifer in hopes of better rolls.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'', however, goes the other direction. as [=RNG=] is the abbreviation for Rangers, some have taken to calling it the Random Number [[YouBastard Bastard]]. For good reasons.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX:'' On a related note, the patch notes for the 1.01 update of the HD remaster include the intriguing comment "Random number generation is now truly random."
** This was because in the original release of the [=PS4=] version the RNG wasn't implemented properly causing fights to always play out the same, always be in the same places and drops to be predictable.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'': Not helping the usual human inability to understand how statistics work, a mistake in calculation renders probability of success inaccurate for events that have a less than ten percent of failure. This gives even veteran players a sense that not only is the RNG out to get them, the game is actively ''lying'' to them.
* Anyone who has ever played ''VideoGame/EverQuest'' and attempted to level tradeskills beyond a certain point knows that the RNG is a spiteful beast that hates you. There is a reason the premier crafting forum has the appropriately named [[http://mboards.eqtraders.com/eq/forumdisplay.php?26-Primal-Scream-Room Primal Scream Room...]]
* The ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' fandom has come to the conclusion that the series has a sadistic, psychic, "desire-based" RNG for determining how often a really rare item RandomlyDrops, also known as the [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/943655-monster-hunter-tri/54801743 desire sensor]]. It ''will'' skew the odds out of your favor if you really want something, and the only way to end your curse is to not want it. You can't ''act'' like you don't want it, you have to ''actually'' not need it; the system is immune to reverse psychology. So if you spend hours farming the same giant monster for its armor plating, you may go through fifty corpses without seeing one, but you'll end up swimming in the stuff once you give up and move on to a different goal. The only other way to appease it ''may'' be petting the pig.
** The lead designer of the game has officially stated that the desire sensor does not exist, and confirmation bias is the true enemy. He however does admit to questioning the nature of the game at times when even he can't catch a break after 30 back to back hunts.
* Due to the nature of the makers (and fanbase) of ''VideoGame/DragonFable'' the RNG is nicknamed the Rude (or Reall) Nasty Gnome. He sits on a floating pile of all of the gear in the game and throws items at heroes who finish quests. Those heroes that 'amuse' him, get a better item thrown at them (albeit faster).
* One of the main cons in ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse''. Everything that is not the storyline is virtually dictated by the RNG, from the skills you want, to the clothes you wear and even the mentor you want and it even extends to the missions themselves. All missions have bonus objectives that have you fight more or the same enemy twice after clearing the mission quick enough, but even activating the bonus parts is controlled by RNG. That's right, you can literally curbstomp everyone around you with having lost any of your teammates, and you '''still''' will not get the bonus objective, despite fulfilling it. Even worse is when you're trying to get certain items or skills to drop and they simply refuse to, no matter how hard you try.
** The first game was eventually patched to increase RNG odds of both the bonus objective appearing and drop rates, though it was still obnoxious without a doubt. [[VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2 The second game]] fixed the bonus objective problem by having it always, without fail, occur so long as the conditions were fulfilled. But the RNG still remains to taunt and flaunt your much-desired drops infront of your face, ''especially'' if it just gives you the shoes or hands part of a costume you really want. And if a drop you're aiming for is in a [[NintendoHard Expert Mission]], expect much agony as you either keep doing drawn-out boss fights just to get what you want, or keep restarting them because [[GameBreakingBug the boss teleported out of the arena and can't get back in, or killed your entire party unavoidably by spamming Gigantic Ki blasts.]]
* Much of the mechanics in ''VideoGame/SummonersWarSkyArena'', but most notably the summoning mechanics, are handled by the [[FanNickname RNGeesus]]. Players have formulated theories on how the system works, how to influence the RNG to grant them that elusive OlympusMons, up to the weird rituals one could do to 'surely' get a natural 4* at least.

* ''Videogame/FallenLondon'': It plays a huge part, since the entire game is based on stat checks, along with the occasional card that's entirely up to chance. Nothing like raising your scandal to huge, unmanageable levels because you failed an 80% success chance five times in a row. It got so bad the players actually got an ''apology card'' (and a pair of dice as a make-up gift) from the RNG during one of the Christmas events. It's that sort of game.
-->''"We've had our differences. But this is Christmas. Best wishes, the Fallen London [[LampshadeHanging Probably]] Random Number Algorithm."''
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' has plenty of RNG-related stats - during attacks, whether they'll land and\or be a critical hit; during level-ups, what will be improved. And often it screws the player and\or [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard helps the enemy]], to the point a LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' was named "Let's plumb the depths of the RNG's spite in Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals!"
-->[[http://lparchive.org/Fire-Emblem-Sword-of-Seals/Update%2002/ I do not know what sorcery is at work here, but I'm sure as hell not complaining.]]\\
'''It’s possible the RNG gods were pleased by your previous sacrifice.'''\\
''Or maybe all the levels in my LP are going to start sucking. I think that’s how the RNG works.''
%%** Fire Emblem is an especially jarring and infuriating series for this trope, due to how many players handle their odds. To most players, anything under 50% is a guaranteed miss, and anything over about 75% is a guaranteed hit. [[note]]In some of the games, the lion's share of which being ones that made it to English-speaking players, this was actually reasonable. Due to a system called "True Hit" by fans, the hit probability display and the actual calculation using different metrics, [[ArtisticLicenseStatistics the latter of which being programmed by someone with a poor grasp of basic math]]. Any deviation either side of 50% actually was exponentially more or less likely than it appeared, with a 75% chance was closer to 90%.[[/note]] When this rule is defied, cue lots of rage and a likely restart because the player wagered an important unit on the odds.
** Fire Emblem has a major history in regards to its RNG regarding hit rates, to the frustration of many players through its history. In the first five games, the RNG is a simple one-RN - what you see is what you get. Then, starting with VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade, it begins implementing 2 RN, where the game will roll two numbers and the average will factor whether the attack or miss based on hit rates, hence the term "True Hit" by fans. But in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEchoesShadowsOfValentia'', the RN is completely reworked which uses [[https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/ae5666/echoes_absolutely_uses_fates_rn_bonus_explanation/ this formula]] when factoring hit rates at least 50 hit, otherwise uses one RN for anything lower than 50. Then ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' went back to using a 2 RN system. Expect horror stories from many players when the odds are against them and lose a valuable unit out of a bad gamble.
** On the flip side, any enemy unit with a non-zero chance to get a CriticalHit is usually treated like a DemonicSpider, with horror stories of 1% crits being quite easy to find.
** One "small" mercy of the FE series is that random number generation is, upon repeated replay, easily understood: every time some randomized result is needed, it consults the same list of numbers and simply advances to the next item in the list. If you know when this query occurs, SaveScumming for the exact result desired is trivial and possible even in real time speedruns (for example, VideoGame/FireEmblemBlazingSword was speedrun at WebVideo/GamesDoneQuick 2017 in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if2q5FL2u4Y less than an hour and a half]] thanks to in depth knowledge of the RNG to guarantee critical hits and better than average level ups).
%%** [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou Mission-critical characters]] or even entire armies used to get crippled by the RNG repeatedly giving few or no stat increases during level-ups, possibly to the point of [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable wedging an entire playthrough]]. Some mercy was finally applied to the RNG in more recent installments - ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' onward will re-roll a level that doesn't give at least one stat point[[note]]As of ''Awakening'', which allowed for gleeful abuse of the system, you can still get an empty level if most stats are capped already[[/note]], and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' further normalizes stats by increasing or decreasing the chance or a stat increasing if it's behind or ahead of average appropriately.

* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', the Random Number [[OlympusMons Arceus]] has a habit of trolling you by, for example, giving you critical hits when your opponent is one hit away from fainting anyway. Or when you're trying to catch something and you know your next attack won't make it faint, but a critical hit ''will''. It also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard heavily favors the computer]] when it comes to things like accuracy, paralysis, confusion, etc. Enjoy getting hit with Sand Attack once and whiffing your next 3 or 4 attacks, while they can be hit with Sand Attack 5 times ''and'' be paralyzed, but still manage to attack every turn and land them all. Of course, every so often it will decide to ThrowTheDogABone and give ''you'' a ridiculously lucky turn or two. Just so you don't get ''too'' suspicious of it.
** It's even worse when playing competitively. It is rare for RNG to allow either side's schemes to work ideally. Many matches are determined by the number of consecutive turns a paralyzed Pokemon won't move, and finishing off the opponent is often made less trivial by repeated missing from attacks with accuracy upwards of 80%.
** Random Crits have become something of a [[MemeticMutation meme]] in the [[ChallengeRun Nuzlocke]] community (where fainted Pokémon die and can't be used), where it's common for inexperienced Nuzlockers to needlessly lose Pokémon to critical hits that could have totally been avoided. Such players who complain about crits on forums are usually spammed with the [[{{Pun}} critical]] advice "always play around crits".
** The RNG is also what determines a Pokémon's ability, nature, [=IV=]s, and by extent, shininess.[[labelnote:Note]]Shininess is determined by [=IV=]s in Generation II, while starting from Generation III it is determined by a complex calculation revolving around the original trainer's ID number, the current trainer's secret ID number (a hidden serial code used to ensure that no two save files are treated alike, as OT ID numbers are able to be identical between trainers), and the Pokémon's personality value (which determines its gender and ability; in Generations III and IV, it also determined its nature).[[/labelnote]] Because of how diverse the range is for all of these (excluding abilities, which are limited to two at most [apart from hidden abilities]), it is very difficult to get a perfect Pokémon for your party. For instance, it is very likely that the shiny Pokémon you just encountered has poor enough stats to serve as nothing more than a trophy, or that Pokémon you found with the ability you want is severely crippled by its IV-altering nature. Conversely, it is possible for a good ability to perfectly compensate for a bad nature, and a shiny Pokémon could be just enough to carry you a long way as a trainer. The fact that [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]] now includes Super Training and Pokémon Amie, two surefire ways to efficiently EV train your party to GameBreaker status helps alleviate some of the RNG's flaws. [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Gen VII]] introduces Hyper Training, which can increase a Level 100 Pokemon's stats to their possible maximum[[note]]It doesn't actually change the Pokemon's IV itself but "flags" it so that the stat is "simulated" as a maximum IV[[/note]]. This and the Ability Capsule (an item that can change the non-hidden ability of a Pokemon with 2 possible abilities) meant that the only thing one needs to worry about when it comes to making a competitive monster is its nature and possibly if it has its regular ability(s) or its hidden ability. Then [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Gen VIII]] introduced Mints, which let you change your Pokémon's nature.[[note]]Like Hyper Training, it just "flags" it to simulate the new nature, so the new nature won't be passed down via breeding, prefered healing berry flavors will remain the same, etc.[[/note]], eliminating the former problem. The Crown Tundra DLC introduces an item known as an Ability Patch, which can change a Pokémon's ability to its hidden ability, but not vice versa, eliminating the later problem.
** The slot machines have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4fjbJnz7O4 surprisingly intricate mechanics]] -- in particular, the chance of winning in the slots depends on the machine's hidden state when you spin, and most of the time the game will stop you from winning anything. In order to either create or avoid a match the game will skip symbols after you press A. This is apparently TruthInTelevision -- Japanese pachislot machines are legally allowed to skip up to four symbols before stopping.
* Don't let its adorable aesthetics fool you, ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'''s entire gameplay revolves around randomness. Who your village starts out with, what your native fruit will be, who moves in, who wants to move out, where and what things will spawn, what items will appear in shops... the list goes on and on. After all, real life isn't exactly pre-planned, now is it?
* Items appearing at random times and from random places in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series have caused a lot of resentment and frustration, such that nearly all tournaments, official or not, turn them off. Among high-level players, or at least players for whom Smash Bros. is SeriousBusiness, they loathe the random nature of the items so much that most Smash Bros. {{Game Mod}}s leave items completely untouched, even if the mods might cause them to crash (Brawl Minus is the only high-profile exception), under the assumption that everyone who will play with these mods will never play with items to begin with.
** Additionally, a handful of characters have at least one move where random chance can play a large factor. The most notable examples are [[Franchise/SuperMario Luigi]], whose "Green Missile" attack has a roughly 1/8 chance of travelling way further than usual and dealing massive knockback; Mr. Game & Watch, whose "Judge" attack yields one of nine random effects which range in usefulness from damaging yourself to OneHitKO; and [[Franchise/DragonQuest The Hero]], whose "Command Selection" randomly picks four moves out of a pool of 21 and sorts them into an RPG-style menu, which the player may select one move from... in addition to having random {{Critical Hit}}s on his smash attacks.

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny2}}'' gives out weapons and armor based on this, especially towards its coveted Exotic engrams, with Guardians more often cursing than praising [=RNGesus=] for how quickly their collection of weapons and armor grows.
* The multiplayer mode of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' uses a random unlock distribution based on Collectable Card Game style "packs" that contain different characters, items, and boosters. Naturally, players were quick to complain about how annoying it was, especially given that different characters and weapons of the same rarity were very much not equal in usefulness. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by one of the random conversations you can overhear in the Citadel DLC, where an N7 Fury (a biotic that favours light weapons) is arguing with a requisitions officer that keeps trying to give her upgrades to a very heavy shotgun.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' uses the same random unlocking system as Mass Effect 3, above, but the in-game monetary reward for completing a mission was reduced, making unlocking rewards even more annoying.
* In ''VideoGame/RedRogue'', a roguelike-platformer, "RNG" is the name of an actual deity within the game that the protagonist has a love/hate relationship with. Altars to RNG are scattered throughout the game, and grant a random effect (positive or negative) when activated.
* Spectacularly ''[[AvertedTrope averted]]'' in the original ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble''. Nearly everything that happens in that game that looks random, from point items to powerups to which [[SpellingBonus E-X-T-E-N-D]] bubbles appear to enemy movement to bubble appearance rates, is secretly controlled by a whole stream of counters and timers. Literally the ''only'' random event is the [[RareRandomDrop hideously rare]] fireball bubble, which is a 1 in 4096 chance from each of the bubbles that appear of their own accord throughout the level.
* In ''VideoGame/Persona3'', if you're unlucky you'll be mercilessly killed by bosses by random chance, i. e., getting Mudo'd by the Intrepid Knight or charmed the whole battle by the 4th full moon boss. At higher difficulties, getting back attacked meant the protagonist getting attacked several times in a row and dying before you can do anything.
* ''VideoGame/BloonsMonkeyCity'' does hold a small amount of [=RNGesus=] with Monkey Knowledge Packs, although because the game is still fairly easily winnable without them, it isn't that huge of an issue. Despite that, expect that the tower you like to use the most will probably be one of the last to level up. Besides Monkey Knowledge Packs, it still revolves on a small bit of randomness at the start, such as the tiles you get at the start of the city and how far Special Missions will be.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': Attempts to obtain rare blades are heavily subject to chance, especially since there are 5 different sets of probabilities you might have to deal with in a given save file, and the game doesn't tell you which one you have. The one upside is that if you use up enough cores without getting any rare blades, the game will give you a rare blade out of pity. It only does this three times, though; after that it's just you and the RNG.
* ''VideoGame/CultistSimulator'': This combination card game/interactive fiction/pseudo-roguelike has plenty of opportunities for RNG sadism. Creator Alexis Kennedy (of ''Fallen London'' fame) brushed off lots of anecdotal complaints about it after the game launched ... and then discovered the players were '''right''' about a certain class of opponents (Tenacious Hunters) being virtually unkillable. They were protected by a stacking resistance mechanic that didn't proc the way Kennedy expected; a fix appeared in the update log (along with an apology) a few weeks after launch.
* Notably averted in ''VideoGame/PhantomDoctrine'', a turn based strategy game set in the Cold War. Despite a similar interface to ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' there is no percentage chance to hit during combat. Instead damage is determined by weapon type, range, amount of cover, protective gear and other modifiers. Targets have the opportunity to dodge a shot completely or reduce damage if their "awareness" (essentially this game's version of mana) is high enough. Thus a player always knows how effective their attack will be, and strategy plays a far more important role than luck.
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' and [[VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge it's sequel]] are famous for having a random number god that is [[GodIsGood loving and nurturing]] should you pay tribute: the game uses a fairly simplistic mechanic to calculate random events like drops or critical hits, and is one that players have [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gba/468548-golden-sun/faqs/19312 thoroughly]] [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gba/561356-golden-sun-the-lost-age/faqs/25734 manhandled]] [[https://minimaxir.com/2013/05/guaranteed-to-be-random/ and]] [[http://www.goldensunrealm.com/gs/nickpresta_rng-guide.txt torn]] [[http://goldensun.wikia.com/wiki/Random_Number_Generator apart]] to the point it's easily possible to get 1/256 probability items ''one hundred percent of the time''. For one of many examples, Ivan's strongest weapon, the Kikuichimonji which is normally an impossibly RareDrop, will be found 100% of the time if you fight an Ice Gargoyle and a Fenrir in Venus Lighthouse and target the Fenrir with this pattern: Issac casts Clay Spire, Garret casts Flare Wall, Ivan casts Tornado, Mia casts Ice Horn, Issac defends, Garret uses the Torch Djinn, Ivan defends, Mia casts Wish. You can ''guarantee'' a fight against these two by getting to the main room of Venus Lighthouse (with the Psynergy Stone in the middle), and then saving and doing a hard reset to reset the RNG seed. Other than that the only real "setup" needed is that your on an appropriate level that the enemies die on your last turn and the character's speed have them act in the proper order (First Ivan, then Issac, then Mia, and finally Garret) -- both of these will be the case by default by the time you arrive at this point in the game.
* ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'''s random landscape and item generation can create both very favorable and very unfavorable situations, but, usually, you can work your way through it carefully to avoid danger. Even so, sometimes you can get screwed by something virtually impossible to predict; you could [[https://dankmemes12061.tumblr.com/post/182327499878/much-bad-luck fall into a hidden ravine]] when a creeper explosion disrupted the sand and, seconds after hitting the ground, find yourself face-to-face with ''another'' creeper. (But at least you didn't die on impact, or suffocate when the sand fell on you.)
** Random terrain becomes a more serious problem in the Nether, a FireAndBrimstoneHell dimension accessed through portals. When you first build a portal, you have no way of knowing exactly what you'll find on the other side--it could be a relatively safe area, or a precipice over a lava pit with flying fireball-spewing monsters nearby. Going either way through the portal takes several seconds and blurs your vision for several additional seconds; you may get knocked into lava and lose your entire inventory before you can even get your bearings.
** Some good enchanted armor or weapons could increase your chances of survival, but the RNG taunts you a bit here, as well. The enchanting table's menu of spells is, like everything else, randomized--each type of item gets 3 options, each of which may give one or more enchantments, and it only tells you the first one. Enchanting anything re-randomizes the options given for everything else, and a given item can only get magicked up at a table once, although you can (at great expense) combine enchantments with an anvil. All forms of magical-item-crafting [[LevelDrain drain experience levels]], so your ability to re-roll your table is limited. To top it all off, many of the best spells cannot ever come from the randomizer table, but must instead be found--randomly--out in the overworld, in spellbooks [[GuideDangIt (the game, of course, never tells you this)]].

* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' plays with this a bit: it ''intentionally'' has a weighted RNG, as per WordOfGod. A slight bias is introduced with every sequential hit or miss, intended to keep players and mobs from getting a run of, say, 10 whiffs in a row, because [[RuleOfFun that wouldn't be any fun]]. Of course, as any player can tell you, that won't stop your nuke from missing whenever you really need it to connect.
* With weapons and gear having multiple parts available for each item, players of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' and ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' have had a love/hate relationship with [=RNGesus=].
** One to note in particular was Admiral Bahroo and Professor Broman doing a ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' speedrun. They were shopping in Sanctuary for a double-barrel or better Jacobs shotgun. The run was lost when it took ''19 minutes'' of saving and quitting to get one. [[note]]The calculated odds that they would not get that shotgun in a vendor in that amount of time ended up being ''1 in 347000''.[[/note]]
** This became a literal representation in the ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep'' DLC for ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' with the "die roll" chests. Just hitting the Use button lets you roll one die while paying Eridium lets you roll twice.
*** Rolling a 20 with one die gets you two purple rarity items.
*** Rolling ''two'' 20s would give you a Legendary item and a blue rarity item.
*** Rolling a 1 when rolling a single die gets you an Eridium and a ''live grenade''.
*** Rolling ''two'' 1s gets you 4 Eriduim and ''[[OhCrap 3 live grenades]]''!
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'':
*** Red potions (restores all magic) would pop out of certain statues and breakable blocks when they were struck with the sword. Occasionally however, an Iron Knuckle or Eagle Knight would pop out of the statue/block instead.
*** Additionally, a number of red potions are hidden inside places in dungeons and in the world map. But any of them may or may not appear in any new game.
** In ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' there are five variables to a weapon drop which are Weapon Rank, Weapon Stars, Weapon Slots, Number of Skills, and Type of Skills. Getting the very best weapon (Level 3 for the Wii U version and Level 4 / Level 4+ for Legends and Definitive Edition, five stars, eight slots) requires a tremendous investment of time and amazing luck. And since that's just for one type of weapon for one character (and there are a LOT of weapons), you'll be working for a very, very long time to get them all.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' has the Enigma Cannon and the shuttle, both of which need to be used to prevent a ColonyDrop, which are largely affected by luck[[note]]In the original [=PlayStation=] version, it is possible to use a GoodBadBug to always force a success by relying on the fact that the demo reels use a fixed RNG seed and the game only rerolls RNG during gameplay and not during menus. The rereleases don't have this, however, meaning you will have to rely on luck[[/note]]. You can influence their success by gathering items from mavericks, but even with all the items it largely boils down to a roughly 1 in 10 chance of the cannon working and a 7 in 10 chance of the shuttle working. Using Zero more than X will also make them more likely to succeed, as failure means he's {{permanently missable|Content}}. It's a good idea to save Spike Rosered for last and ''not'' save when you defeat him, since the randomizer decides how successful the Enigma / shuttle will be during the "You got..." screen: he has the easiest stage of the second group of mavericks and if the shuttle fails you can easily rechallenge him.
* For a while a common superstition for ''VideoGame/TheIdolmasterCinderellaGirls Starlight Stage'' players was that surrounding Chihiro's desk with Aroma Diffusers would help with pulling rare cards in the gacha.
* Early ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' games are routinely accused of sensing what piece the player needs the most and denying them accordingly. Need an I-piece for that Tetris you just set up? Too bad! Supposedly Alexey Pajitnov himself has experienced this feeling, despite being the game's creator. Later games often tailor the RNG to be more fair to the player: ''VideoGame/TetrisTheGrandMaster'' uses randomizers that bias against dealing repeats (they can still happen, just not as much), and the current Tetris Guideline mandates that the randomizer deal permutations of the 7 tetrominoes (i.e. after 7 pieces, all piece types will have been dealt once, after 14 pieces they've all been dealt twice, etc.).
* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Percentage-based success rates are present in determining Rogue abilities success as well as certain battle skills like Collect and Steal. Even when the numbers look favorable, it's up to Lady Luck if that 90% Steal nabs that Forbidden Blade or ruins your town reputation.
* ''VideoGame/EuropaUniversalis'': random events can spawn completely out of the blue, or could be weighted if certain conditions are met. Many players would swear that the infamous "hunting accident" event triggers more if your heir is young and talented, while your monarch is old and unlikely to have new children. Or maybe it's the disappointment before [[SaveScumming reloading]].
** Sometimes though you get rid of terrible heirs only to get wonderful ones later.
* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'':
** Your starting position in the galaxy is random. If you are lucky, you could spawn near a nebula (that you can harvest for resources), with many bountyful systems nearby, enclaves, some useful leviathans, and no rival empires nearby. If you are unlucky, you could spawn relatively next to a fanatical purifier empire. If you are really unlucky, you could spawn [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Stellaris/comments/77y1wg/i_feel_insulted_this_is_the_worst_spawn_i_ever_had/ out of range from the closest system until you research more advanced jump drive engines]] (pre-2.0), or in a hyperlane chokepoint blocked by a leviathan, a marauder empire, or worse.
** Research options are drawn like cards from a set of possibilities. What pops up might be a game-changer, for better or worst.

** The RNG is also what determines a Pokémon's ability, nature, IVs, and by extent, shininess.[[labelnote:Note]]Shininess is determined by IVs in Generation II, while starting from Generation III it is determined by a complex calculation revolving around the original trainer's ID number, the current trainer's secret ID number (a hidden serial code used to ensure that no two save files are treated alike, as OT ID numbers are able to be identical between trainers), and the Pokémon's personality value (which determines its gender and ability; in Generations III and IV, it also determined its nature).[[/labelnote]] Because of how diverse the range is for all of these (excluding abilities, which are limited to two at most [apart from hidden abilities]), it is very difficult to get a perfect Pokémon for your party. For instance, it is very likely that the shiny Pokémon you just encountered has poor enough stats to serve as nothing more than a trophy, or that Pokémon you found with the ability you want is severely crippled by its IV-altering nature. Conversely, it is possible for a good ability to perfectly compensate for a bad nature, and a shiny Pokémon could be just enough to carry you a long way as a trainer. The fact that [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]] now includes Super Training and Pokémon Amie, two surefire ways to efficiently EV train your party to GameBreaker status helps alleviate some of the RNG's flaws. [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Gen VII]] introduces Hyper Training, which can increase a Level 100 Pokemon's stats to their possible maximum[[note]]It doesn't actually change the Pokemon's IV itself but "flags" it so that the stat is "simulated" as a maximum IV[[/note]]. This and the Ability Capsule (an item that can change the non-hidden ability of a Pokemon with 2 possible abilities) meant that the only thing one needs to worry about when it comes to making a competitive monster is its nature and possibly if it has its regular ability(s) or its hidden ability. Then [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Gen VIII]] introduced Mints, which let you change your Pokémon's nature.[[note]]Like Hyper Training, it just "flags" it to simulate the new nature, so the new nature won't be passed down via breeding, prefered healing berry flavors will remain the same, etc.[[/note]], eliminating the former problem. The Crown Tundra DLC introduces an item known as an Ability Patch, which can change a Pokémon's ability to its hidden ability, but not vice versa, eliminating the later problem.

* ''VdieoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'': Not helping the usual human inability to understand how statistics work, a mistake in calculation renders probability of success inaccurate for events that have a less than ten percent of failure. This gives even veteran players a sense that not only is the RNG out to get them, the game is actively ''lying'' to them.

%%** [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou Mission-critical characters]] or even entire armies used to get crippled by the RNG repeatedly giving few or no stat increases during level-ups, possibly to the point of [[UnwinnableByMistake wedging an entire playthrough]]. Some mercy was finally applied to the RNG in more recent installments - ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' onward will re-roll a level that doesn't give at least one stat point[[note]]As of ''Awakening'', which allowed for gleeful abuse of the system, you can still get an empty level if most stats are capped already[[/note]], and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' further normalizes stats by increasing or decreasing the chance or a stat increasing if it's behind or ahead of average appropriately.

** Fire Emblem has a major history in regards to its RNG regarding hit rates, to the frustration of many players through its history. In the first five games, the RNG is a simple one-RN - what you see is what you get. Then, starting with VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade, it begins implementing 2 RN, where the game will roll two numbers and the average will factor whether the attack or miss based on hit rates, hence the term "True Hit" by fans. But in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEchoesShadowsOfValentia'', the RN is completely reworked which uses [[https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/ae5666/echoes_absolutely_uses_fates_rn_bonus_explanation/ this formula]] when factoring hit rates at least 50 hit, otherwise uses one RN for anything lower than 50. Expect horror stories from many players when the odds are against them and lose a valuable unit out of a bad gamble.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' is... strange.
** On the one hand, it's a livestreamed ''D&D'' game, so absolutely nothing is staged. Chance should be king. And yet sometimes the dice seem to obey the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality in that players are prone to getting [[CriticalHit Natural 20s]] at the ''best possible times''. Examples include Percy rolling a crit to maintain concentration on his Hex against his arch-nemesis, Dr. Ripley; Grog ''killing'' [[spoiler:Kevdak, his uncle]], with a life-or-death critical hit; and Vex rolling two crits in a row when Vax is [[spoiler:knocked unconscious by the Briarwoods]]. The dice even believe in TrueLovesKiss, apparently -- when Vex kisses [[spoiler:Percy during his resurrection ritual]], she rolls a Natural 20 on her persuasion check to [[spoiler:help convince his soul to return]]. On the other hand, Creator/WilWheaton has a brief guest spot, and maintains his streak of absolutely miserable luck known as "the Wheaton dice curse", rolling five or less an ''absurd'' number of times. When Creator/MatthewMercer, the GM, was asked about it, [[https://youtu.be/OD48krT1ijs this was his reply]].
--->'''Matt:''' There is no explanation! There is -- that is some -- I don't know [[ArtifactOfDoom what ancient relic his family uncovered two generations ago that has led to this blood-curse]] from generation to generation to this day, but that man ''[[BeyondTheImpossible breaks]]'' math and physics!
** Even their failures are oddly appropriate for the narrative! In Whitestone, the lingering undead atmosphere causes the entire party to need to make saves against "corruption" once a day. The only person who has failed the saves so far is Percy, who is ''already'' acting more violent and being corrupted by the smoky entity from his dream. (It helps that Mercer is an excellent storyteller and readily makes the die rolls make sense). Similarly, Kaylie [[spoiler:Shorthalt]] has a perfect opportunity to attack Scanlan and rolls a 1, as if she can't bring herself to [[spoiler:stab her own father]].

Some games try to cut out the nonsense by supplying their own LuckManipulationMechanic. This never works--the Random Number God is not mocked, and it'll find a way to mess with you regardless. In RealLife or certain other situations, a TwoHeadedCoin can masquerade as a mere minion of the Random Number God up until TheReveal.

* ''VideoGame/Stellaris'':

*** Epic comment in the YouTube link above: "Oh don't worry, not all of the rolls will be like this! The enemy will most definitely hit you with only a 25% chance to hit!"
*** Or you could have enemies drop right were there is the objective you have to pick up, one of them being a flamethrower carrier that could blow up, destroying your objective as well. (Un)luckily, your sniper only does 4 damage thanks to the random roulette... but then that flamethrower guy steps nearby your ranger, who has a passive ability with which he can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVxk_FX4i3g&ab_channel=WildeCard deal massive melee danage to any enemy who comes too close, thus triggering a huge explosion]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Three numbers into ''Literature/AMillionRandomDigitsWithOneHundredThousandNormalDeviates'', the fifties' equivalent to a random number generator, and zero has already been repeated twice. Wow, I'm sure it was totally random that this book gave out the lowest number possible when I needed a nine...

** The same remake downplays the trope at Normal difficulty, as chances are stealthly rigged in player's favor (that is if the user interface says that you have 50% chance to hit actually it's more than that), and other invisible modifiers are applied such as a one-turn bonus to aim if your soldier missed the last shot, or enemies getting lower accuracy if your squaddies are killed. When you jump to Classic difficulty, these modifiers are removed, so the numbers you see are true, and you will noticeably start to scream at rnjesus.
** Then comes ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', and you can see things like your [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tasuxNa6XKw&ab_channel=RyuuBateson whole squad missing ridiculously easy overwatch shots when that gigantic berserker queen showed]]... only to kill it in one shot [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP2cANyLuyY&ab_channel=MarkZeroGaming thanks to the 5% chance of an ''execution shot'' triggering indeed]].

** The same remake downplays the trope at Normal difficulty, as chances are stealthly rigged in player's favor (that is if the user interface says that you have 50% chance to it actually it's more than that), and other invisible modifiers are applied such as a one-turn bonus to aim if your soldier missed the last shot, or enemies getting lower accuracy if your squaddies are killed. When you jump to Classic difficulty, these modifiers are removed, so the numbers you see are true, and you will noticeably start to scream at rnjesus.

*** Or you could have enemies drop right were there is the objective you have to pick up, one of them being a flamethrower carrier that could blow up, destroying your objective as well. (Un)luckily, your sniper only does 4 damage thanks to the random roulette, but the flamethrower steps nearby your ranger, who has a passive ability with which he can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVxk_FX4i3g&ab_channel=WildeCard deal massive melee manage to any enemy who comes too close, triggering a huge explosion]].

** Then comes ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', and you can see things like your [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tasuxNa6XKw&ab_channel=RyuuBateson whole squad missing ridiculously easy overwatch shots when that gigantic berserker queen showed]]... only to kill it in one shot [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP2cANyLuyY&ab_channel=MarkZeroGaming thanks to the 5% chance of an ''execution shot'' triggering indeed]].
*** Or you could have enemies drop right were there is the objective you have to pick up, one of them being a flamethrower carrier that could blow up, destroying your objective as well. (Un)luckily, your sniper only does 4 damage thanks to the random roulette, but the flamethrower steps nearby your ranger, who has a passive ability with which he can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVxk_FX4i3g&ab_channel=WildeCard deal massive melee manage to any enemy who comes too close, triggering a huge explosion]].

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' and [[VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge it's sequel]] are famous for having a random number god that is [[GodIsGood loving and nurturing]] should you pay tribute: the game uses a fairly simplistic mechanic to calculate random events like drops or critical hits, and is one that players have [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gba/468548-golden-sun/faqs/19312 thoroughly]] [[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gba/561356-golden-sun-the-lost-age/faqs/25734 manhandled]] [[https://minimaxir.com/2013/05/guaranteed-to-be-random/ and]] [[http://www.goldensunrealm.com/gs/nickpresta_rng-guide.txt torn]] [[http://goldensun.wikia.com/wiki/Random_Number_Generator apart]] to the point it's easily possible to get 1/256 probability items ''one hundred percent of the time''. For one of many examples, Ivan's strongest weapon, the Kikuichimonji which is normally an impossibly RareDrop, will be found 100% of the time if you fight an Ice Gargoyle and a Fenrir in Venus Lighthouse and target the Fenrir with this pattern: Issac casts Clay Spire, Garret casts Flare Wall, Ivan casts Tornado, Mia casts Ice Horn, Issac defends, Garret uses the Torch Djinn, Ivan defends, Mia casts Wish, with the ''only'' requirement being you're at an appropriate level that the enemies die on your last turn and character's speed have them act in the proper order (First Ivan, then Issac, then Mia, and finally Garret, which is their default action speed).

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' has the Enigma Cannon and the shuttle, both of which need to be used to prevent a ColonyDrop, which are largely affected by luck. You can influence their success by gathering items from mavericks, but even with all the items it largely boils down to a roughly 1 in 10 chance of the cannon working and a 7 in 10 chance of the shuttle working. Using Zero more than X will also make them more likely to succeed, as failure means he's {{permanently missable|Content}}. It's a good idea to save Spike Rosered for last and ''not'' save when you defeat him, since the randomizer decides how successful the Enigma / shuttle will be during the "You got..." screen: he has the easiest stage of the second group of mavericks and if the shuttle fails you can easily rechallenge him.

* The central pulsing magnet in ''Pinball/TheAddamsFamily'' causes the ball to get flung in wild and random directions whenever it's active, which happens pretty often.[[note]]It is always active in "Seance," any time a multiball is ready to begin, and continuously throughout all multiballs.[[/note]] There is, however, a glitch in the code where if the player traps the ball for 15 seconds, the magnets deactivate, allowing the player to take a free shot. Since almost all higher-level players are aware of this glitch, the magnets are simply disabled in competitive play in an effort to keep the game moving.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' has the Enigma Cannon and the shuttle, both of which need to be used to prevent a ColonyDrop, which are largely affected by luck. You can influence their success by gathering items from mavericks, but even with all the items it largely boils down to a roughly 1 in 10 chance of the cannon working and a 7 in 10 chance of the shuttle working. Using Zero more than X will also make them more likely to succeed, as failure means he's LostForever. It's a good idea to save Spike Rosered for last and ''not'' save when you defeat him, since the randomizer decides how successful the Enigma / shuttle will be during the "You got..." screen: he has the easiest stage of the second group of mavericks and if the shuttle fails you can easily rechallenge him.

** The casting of lots after prayer continued in the early Christian church. Acts 1:26 says that's how Matthias was chosen to take Judas Iscariot's place as an apostle. (However, given that Matthias is never mentioned again and [[SixthRanger Paul]] is signed on after the fact, it's unclear whether or not this passage is descriptive[[note]]a simple recording of events as they occurred[[/note]] or prescriptive[[note]]to be imitated or avoided by future generations[[/note]].

* A Website/CollegeHumor sketch about VideoGame/{{Tetris}} called "[[http://www.collegehumor.com/video/5767906/the-tetris-god The Tetris God]]" involves the eponymous character manually choosing which piece will be next.

* The Bible says in Proverbs 16:33 that man casts lots, which were a form of chance equipment like dice, if not dice, but the result comes from God, making Jehovah/Yahweh the literal Random Number God.

** The casting of lots after prayer continued in the early Christian church. Acts 1:26 says that's how Matthias was chosen to take Judas Iscariot's place as an apostle.

* ''Fanfic/RiskItAll'': The system that grants Ren his powers organizes abilities into "tiers" of general effectiveness, whatever powers Ren gets is largely up to chance. His rolls can range from skill and math-bathed games that grant him useful abilities like [[ArmorPiercingAttack Soul-Crushing Strike]] to games of pure luck. Ren once ends up getting nothing but luck-based games multiple times in a row, leaving him with a number of abilities like [[{{Omniglot}} Multilingual]] that are useless in a straight fight. But when it's feeling generous he can get a higher-tier ability like

[[folder:Comic Books]]