ABSTRACT
Diablo II makes for a great lesson in the various kinds of randomness that exist in game design because it employs so many of them. Indeed, not only does Diablo II exhibit many kinds of randomness, but it also causes many of these random systems to interact with one another in complex ways. The character screen displays damage in RR format rather than in average format. It's not hard to calculate the average of two numbers, but Diablo II isn't the kind of game where players are meant to keep a scratchpad or calculator handy. True to roguelike orthodoxy, but often quite frustrating to mainstream audiences, Diablo II's best weapons and armor all exhibit RR variation in the affixes they acquire. Although its implementation is not nearly as obvious as elsewhere, Diablo II also employs RR variation in map construction. The procedural generation of maps is one place where the otherwise thorough documentation of Diablo II falls short.
