How to Make Your Own Random Generator

This is why in a lot of my generators, some of the results have that out-of-place space.

In another one of my generators (http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=3inEWpS5), if you view the source, you'll see a few things that may seem odd.

First, the percentages:

$sex
male
female
intersex {3%}

This is supposed to make sure that "intersex" only show up in three percent of the results, but it hasn't worked. I don't know why, but I'll hopefully figure it out soon.

In this generator (http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=QVanbs4D), you'll see:

$nail shape
almond [almond size]
narrow vertical [narrow vertical size]
oval [oval size]
round [round size]
square [square size]
triangular [triangular size]

The square brackets, in this case, tell's Orteil, that if the results say that the nail shape is almond, then you also choose a result under the almond size category. Here's the full nail section of that generator:

$nail shape
almond [almond size]
narrow vertical [narrow vertical size]
oval [oval size]
round [round size]
square [square size]
triangular [triangular size]

$almond size
water
fire

$narrow vertical size
vertical
claw

$oval size
large
medium
small

$round size
large
small
high corn kernel

$square size
large
medium
oblong
wide oblong
medium with oval base

$triangular size
spatulate
wedge
shell
high shell

This is the Hands section of the phrase:

$phrase
<b>Hands:</b> They have [hand size] [palm shape] hands with [an] [palm arch] arch, and has [finger length] [finger shape] fingers with [nail shape] shaped nails.

Notice I don't have any of the nail sizes. Once the shape is chosen, then the size is automatically also chosen. Here's what the results would look like:

Hands: They have medium wide hands with a low index finger arch, and has even short spatulate fingers with square oblong shaped nails.

Square is the shape, and oblong is the size. In normal, everyday speech, you'd normally say oblong square nails, but I couldn't specify a size until the shape was chosen, so it had to be switched. Sometimes you just need some clarification notes to go alongside your generator, but as long as you understand it, it's fine. These generators are more for myself anyway, but I share them because I think other people may find them useful.

If you go back to the second generator, the one with the gender and body type, I could have used this, but I didn't. Why? Because you can only use the square brackets once. In this third generator I used the square brackets multiple times, but only once per other category. In the second generator, I wanted it so if the sex "female" or "intersex" was chosen, it would automatically choose a chest size; however, because I only have one chest category, I couldn't do:

$sex
male
female [breasts]
intersex [breasts] {3%}

$breasts
with flat chest
with A chest
with B chest
with C chest
with D chest
with D+ chest

It just won't work. That's why I have "(if is either female sex, intersex, or had a gender realignment surgery)" in the results. Of course, if you make two breasts categories with different titles, it'll work:

$sex
male
female [breasts 1]
intersex [breasts 2] {3%}

$breasts 1
with flat chest
with A chest
with B chest
with C chest
with D chest
with D+ chest

$breasts 2
with flat chest
with A chest
with B chest
with C chest
with D chest
with D+ chest

The reason I didn't do it here is because . . . reasons.

Okay, I'll admit it, I just didn't think of it until now. Are you happy? It certainly gives you an example of what not to do though.

Another bug that I haven't figured out how to fix can be seen in my number generator (http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=uGdp8crv) and my hexadecimal color picker (http://orteil.dashnet.org/randomgen/?gen=x73Bax06). What basically happens is that despite having different categories of the exact same list, the results won't repeat a digit. So instead of being able to get these results:

001
110
101

Or:

00FF00
FF0000
F0000F

They're:

718
591
523

And:

25093A
5A20D6
B2D8AC

I could just list one category and list all of the numbers from 0 to 999 or all of the hexadecimal color code combinations, but that's a lot of work. The number generator is one thing—that's not a problem—but there are 16,777,216 hexadecimal codes. That is way too much just for a generator. Even with this bug, there are still 5,765,760 possible codes, which is plenty.

The greatest thing about Orteil Dashnet is that it can be as long and as detailed as you want. The lists in the categories can be long, you can have as many categories as you want, and the results can be as long as you want in any style you feel comfortable using, so instead of having multiple parts, you can just make one big random generator. Aside from the bugs, the hardest thing is formatting the paragraphs and phrases so the results make sense, if you decide to use sentences and paragraphs as the results.

One last thing. Random generators are just like stories and pictures. They are copyrightable. So don't just copy and paste someone's entire random generator and publish it in your name.

For fun, here are some sites with random generators in case they have something you need so you don't need to make your own:

http://forum.dashnet.org/categories/rg-general-discussion

http://chaoticshiny.com/index.php

http://www.springhole.net/writing_roleplaying_randomators/

https://www.random.org/

http://www.rangen.co.uk/

http://www.lastgaspgrimoire.com/generators/

Along with my own generators in a comprehensive guide book:

https://www.quotev.com/story/6865735/My-Personal-Random-Generators