Mottos, 8 (d100)

Whether they’re called adages, maxims, slogans or creeds, a motto by any other name will still sound as sweet. These simple statements are essentially promises made to oneself, family, clan, guild, order or institution. It is a phrase that can be proudly carved into a castle’s archway as a sign or wealth and power or muttered to oneself as a mantra against madness when all other hope is lost. A personal motto is a vow to oneself and a promise of intent (For good or ill) to others, while an institutional motto is a binding pact of like-minded peers. A character’s motto can be a goal in itself or a moral anchor that centers his life and guides his action. This table is a mixed collection of real life and fictional mottos that can aid a DM to quickly expand the history of the campaign or to aid a PC in a richer character creation. —Note: The phrasing for the mottos are copied from their original sources the way they were written (I, Me, We, Him, Man, etc), and a DM should change the tenses to best suit the situation.

d100 Result

1

A Hero Need Not Speak. When He Is Gone The World Will Speak For Him.

2

A Soldier’s First Battlefield Is Always His Own Mind.

3

A Sword Needs No Healing, A Spear Begs No Solace, Only Fools Battle Without Supports.

4

A Wise Blade Takes A Fool’s Life.

5

Against All Odds.

6

All Paths Are One.

7

Always Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide.

8

Anything That Can Go Wrong, Will Go Wrong.

9

Better To Run Than Curse The Road.

10

Burn Down Your Reason And Throttle All Mercy. Battle Is Nigh.

11

Character Is What You Are In The Dark.

12

Deny Everything.

13

Do The Best You Can Until You Know Better. Then When You Know Better, Do Better.

14

Don’t Talk Unless You Can Improve The Silence.

15

Even Those Who Are Beyond Fearing The Reaper, Fear The Butcher.

16

Everybody Fights.

17

Everything In Moderation, Including Moderation.

18

Face Your Enemy, Face Yourself.

19

Fealty To None.

20

Fight The Power.

21

Foe To All.

22

For The Honor Of My House.

23

Forget What You Know. Believe Only What You See.

24

Give Me The Strength To Follow The Path. To Give And Not To Count The Cost. To Struggle, And Not To Heed The Wounds.

25

Gold For Steel.

26

Gold Is Worth Its Weight In Corpses.

27

Grant Me The Serenity To Accept The Things I Cannot Change, Courage To Change The Things I Can And Wisdom To Know The Difference.

28

He Who Lives By The Sword Will Die By The Sword.

29

Hell Has No Room For My Kind.

30

Honor Before Reason.

31

I Am The Darkness Become The Light. I Am The Darkness Become Truth. I Am The Darkness Become The Way.

32

I Do All My Own Dirty Work.

33

I Feed The Darkness And The Darkness Feeds Me.

34

I Not Only Use All The Brains That I Have But All I Can Borrow.

35

I’d Rather Rule In Hell Than Serve In Heaven.

36

I’m Only Brave When I Have To Be. Being Brave Doesn’t Mean You Go Looking For Trouble.

37

If An Injury Has To Be Done To A Man, It Should Be So Severe That His Vengeance Need Not Be Feared.

38

If It Looks Like A Duck, Swims Like A Duck, And Quacks Like A Duck, Then It’s Probably A Mimic.

39

If You Don’t Know Where You Want To Go, Then It Doesn’t Matter Which Path You Take.

40

If You Wish For Peace, Prepare For War.

41

In The Darkest Hour, There Is Always A Way Out.

42

In War, Gods Favor The Sharper Blade.

43

It Is My Spirit That Keeps Me Safe, And Not Mere Armor.

44

It Is The Quest For Honor That Makes One Honorable.

45

It’s More Important To Master The Cards You’re Holding Than To Complain About The Ones Your Opponents Were Dealt.

46

Knock On The Sky And Listen To The Sound.

47

Knowledge Is Useless If It Is Not Used.

48

Learning Is A Girft. Even When Pain Is Your Teacher.

49

Let Them Try And Stop Me.

50

Life Is But A Game And I’ve Come To Play.

51

Live To Fight Another Day.

52

Love Doesn’t Divide, It Multiplies. The More You Love The More You Are Capable Of Loving.

53

Magic Shall Not Prevail.

54

Man Plans, God Laughs.

55

Money Talks.

56

My Pain Belongs To The Divine.

57

Never Attempt To Win By Force What Can Be Won By Deception.

58

Never Forget What You Are. The Rest Of The World Will Not.

59

Never Rely On Others And They Will Never Let You Down.

60

Never Was Anything Great Achieved Without Danger.

61

No Job Is Too Big, No Fee Is Too Big.

62

No Necromancer Shall Raise What I Put Down.

63

No Quarter Given, None Taken.

64

Nothing Comes From Nothing.

65

Pain Is The Best Teacher.

66

People Should Either Be Caressed Or Crushed.

67

Prow Aimed To The Farthest Shore.

68

Seek For The Pleasure Of Seeking, Not Of Finding.

69

Sometimes The Only Victory Possible Is To Keep Your Opponent From Winning.

70

Stand Up And Be Counted.

71

Take Everything That Isn’t Nailed Down, Then Come Back For The Nails.

72

The Blood Of The Covenant Is Thicker Than The Water Of The Womb.

73

The Dawn Will Come.

74

The Flower That Blooms In Adversity Is The Most Rare And Beautiful Of All.

75

The Greater The Difficulty, The More Glory In Surmounting It.

76

The Long Night Has Come.

77

The Mind Is Sharper Than Any Blade.

78

The Obstacle Is The Path.

79

The Only Good X Is A Dead X. —Note: Insert Your Own X As You Deem Fit.

80

The Past Is Gone, The Future Yet To Be, The Present Just That, A Gift Wrapped For Us To Enjoy.

81

The Right Man In The Wrong Place Can Make All The Difference In The World.

82

The Road Of Revenge Is Long, But What Awaits Me At The End Makes It Worthwhile.

83

The Self-Righteous Shall Pay.

84

The Truth Is All Around You But It Hides From The Unworthy.

85

The Warrant Is All.

86

The World Is Not Enough.

87

There Is No Bad Weather, Only Thin Armor.

88

There’s Nothing You Posses That I Cannot Take Away.

89

They Who Live By The Wand Shall Die By My Blade.

90

Those Who Are Given More In Life Must Not Cling To It But Risk It All In Every Moment.

91

Time And The Tides Waits For No Man.

92

To Act Is To Live.

93

To Know Your Enemy, You Must Become Your Enemy.

94

To Those Behind, Rally! To Those Ahead… Kneel!

95

Victory Comes From Accepting The Unacceptable: The Darkness In All Of Us.

96

Wanting Something Does Not Give You The Right To Have It.

97

We All Make Choices But In The End, Our Choices Make Us.

98

Wealth Is Too Precious To Be Entrusted To The Rich.

99

What Good Is A Book Against A Fine Blade?

100

Where Falls My Shadow, Fells My Blade.