> I think you are misunderstanding where people come from with this: it's not the randomness; it's games where when you lose, you start over from the beginning - not the last save/checkpoint/whatever. What this indicates is that, in the broader gaming scene, this is the defining characteristic of Rogue(likes), not the permadeath.

Starting over when you die is exactly how games worked since the arcade days. It only becomes meaningful in a roguelike when coupled with randomness; otherwise you're just replaying the same game over and over again (which is like, exactly the reason Rogue and its likes exist - a different adventure every time).

> from the beginning - even if you are very slightly stronger the second [third, fourth, hundredth] time around.

If you're stronger than before then it isn't the beginning, is it? It's a continuation. It's a save file. Rogue deletes your save file when you die.