How to Generate Random Numbers in Python: A Beginner’s Guide with Dice Simulations

What is the random module?

Python's random module is built into the language, so no additional installation is required. It provides several functions for generating pseudo‑random values.

seed() – initializes the random number generator.

getstate() – returns the current state of the generator.

randrange() – returns a random number within a given range (excluding the endpoint).

randint() – returns a random integer between two endpoints (inclusive).

choice() – selects a random element from a sequence.

shuffle() – shuffles a sequence in place.

Simple random number generator

First, a minimal script that generates a single random integer between 0 and 10:

import random
n = random.randint(0, 10)
print(n)

Save the code to a file (e.g., simplerand.py) and run it with python3 simplerand.py. Each execution prints a pseudo‑random number in the specified range.

Using randrange() for exclusive bounds

If you prefer to exclude the upper bound, replace randint() with randrange():

import random
n = random.randrange(0, 10)
print(n)

More complex dice‑rolling generator

For tabletop games like D&D, you may want to roll dice with various numbers of sides. The following script asks the user for the desired number of sides and then prints a random roll:

import random
number_1 = input("Enter the number of sides on your dice from 3, 6, 10, 20, and 100: ")
n = random.randint(0, int(number_1))
print(n)

Save this as rando.py and execute with python3 rando.py. Each run yields a pseudo‑random result between 0 and the chosen maximum.

Adding a loop for continuous rolls

To avoid restarting the program for each roll, wrap the input and output in a while True loop:

import random
while True:
    number_1 = input("Enter the number of sides on your dice from 3, 6, 10, 20, and 100: ")
    n = random.randint(0, int(number_1))
    print(n)

Terminate the script with Ctrl+C. This demonstrates basic use of Python's random module for both simple and interactive applications.