Random Number God: Difference between revisions

*** The actual pen-and-paper role-playing game, ''[[Hackmaster]]'' (written by the authors of the comic, naturally) enshrines a lot of these dice superstitions in its rules. Included on one page are prints of the signatures of the game's (fictional) creators, complete with instructions for how to empower dice with them.

 

* ''Lone Wolf'' had the dreaded Random Number Table, a grid in the back of each book numbered 0-9, that you had to use whenever you were in combat or were just trying not to get killed by some random. A few gave you bonuses based on Disciplines and equipment, but many more would gladly kill you if you didn't get a seven or higher.

** In many of those cases, ''not'' having that discipline would be even worse off as Lone Wolf would gleefully leap into deadly ambushes, activate ancient traps, fail to notice certain death curses or swallow poison whole. Giving you a 7-or-higher chance to live was actually the ''better'' path to follow in those events.

*** The thing is, the Random Number Table really WAS very much skewed and not really random, considering that the numbers in the grid are in a fixed position and you could more or less "aim" for sections of the RNT which were more likely to grant a favorable result. With practice, you could pull out a 0,1 or 9 anytime you wanted.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Discworld]]'' has an actual Random Number Goddess, but trying to curry her favour is not a smart move. The Lady (Always "The Lady", she will ''never'' come to those who use her name<ref>Strongly implied to be Luck</ref>) does not appreciate being invoked—gamblers who try to worship her directly always seem to die in strange and unlikely (not to mention unlucky) ways. It is said that she has a soft spot for hopeless cases, but relying on this would be a spectacularly bad idea.

* ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'' has Oponn, the twins of chance (one increases your luck, and the other decreases it, but you don't know which you'll get if they bless you). One character unthinkingly named his sword Chance (and as a result has it blessed by them), and most every intelligent character he ever meets advises him to either break it or pass it to his worst enemy if his luck ever turns.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* In a season 5 episode of ''[[Big Bang Theory]]'', Sheldon makes all of his decisions on a 2d20 roll.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Arkham Horror]]'', the Random Number God might be the '''real''' [[Eldritch Abomination]] that you battle against.

 

* In Call of Duty:World at War(as well as Black Ops), the zombie killing "Survival" mode often involves a fair amount of spending credits earned by killing the aforementioned undead to take a spin on the weapon box, which awards a random weapon to the player. Since every gun in the mode can spawn there and the money is paid regardless of if you TAKE the gun, one must pray to the RNG.

* This concept is taken to extremes in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'', where the RNG is a conscious entity that has its own account and frequents the various chat rooms. Those who please the RNG in some way may find themselves "Blessed by the RNG", whereas those who annoy it (especially by begging for a blessing) may find themselves "Cursed by the RNG" (both of which are active character effects). Because KoL game mechanics rely heavily on random number generation, and because KoL effects are rarely explicitly defined, there is still a significant debate over whether or not the Blessing and/or Curse actually affect a player's RNG-based "luck" in the game, or if it's just a red herring.

* ''Guild Wars 2'' players are intimately familiar with the deity RNGesus, who is prayed to often in mapchat and partychat right before chests or bags are opened. Ever since the phasing out of dungeon rewards the only way to make phat loot in this game is on drops, which are of course rolled on the random drop table. It's entirely possible to kill your way through half a dozen champions and a world map boss, then open all the dropped chests, and get the minimum '1 guaranteed rare' from killing a world boss and nothing else above vendor trash.

 

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120130155811/http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/dorktower/images/comics/dorktower636.gif This Dork Tower strip] was the beginning of an arc about scheming dice that started behaving only when the cats got a hold of them.

* Sometimes, the power of the dice can get a little [http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=125 out of control]. Efforts at appeasing the dice may [http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=128 meet with failure].

''"Yes."''

''"Yes and ''no''," said Clay, grinning more broadly now. "It's not a direct effect, you see? The 4 is a Number. It had to come from somewhere."'' }}

 

== Web Originals ==

* A ''[[College Humor]]'' sketch about [[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.

{{quote|''"Thou art a cruel and angry God!"''}}

 

== Real Life ==