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 Heavy Purse Makes A Light Heart. |
2 |
A Jack Of All Trades But A Master Of None Is Oftentimes Better Than A Master Of One. |
3 |
A True Hero Isn’t Measured By The Size Of His Strength, But By The Strength Of His Heart. |
4 |
Accuse The Other Side Of Which You Are Guilty. |
5 |
Ain’t Nothing Fair. |
6 |
All I Know Is There’s More Than I Know. |
7 |
Always Pure. |
8 |
An Enemy Destroyed Cannot Rise Against You. |
9 |
Ask Not For Whom The Bell Tolls. |
10 |
Birth Is A Promise, Death Its Fulfillment. |
11 |
By Reason Or Force. |
12 |
Come As You Are. |
13 |
Cunning And Persistence. |
14 |
Death Cures All Ills. |
15 |
Do Or Do Not. There Is No Try. |
16 |
Don’t Let Loyalty Become Slavery. |
17 |
Even A Shallow Grave Is Deep Enough. |
18 |
Everyone Is Guilty Of All The Good They Did Not Do. |
19 |
Faith Can Be Learned At The End Of A Sword. |
20 |
Fear Is The Path To Evil. Fear Leads To Anger, Anger Leads To Hate, Hate Leads To Suffering. |
21 |
Flesh Is But A Garment, The Soul Is All. |
22 |
Fortune And Glory. |
23 |
God Forgives, I Don’t. |
24 |
Gold Is Mined Easiest From Corpses. |
25 |
Goodness Gains Power Through Understanding. Evil Gains Understanding Through Power. |
26 |
Have Sword, Will Travel. |
27 |
Hell Is Empty And All The Devils Are Here. |
28 |
Hope For The But But Prepare For The Worst. |
29 |
How Does It Benefit Me? |
30 |
I Don’t Want To Survive. I Want To Live. |
31 |
I Kill Therefore I Am. |
32 |
I Only Promise To Try. |
33 |
I Will Suffer No Threat To My Purpose. |
34 |
I’m Here To Blur The Line Between Life And Death. |
35 |
I’ve Forgotten More Nightmares Than You’ll Ever Inspire. |
36 |
If One Good Deed In All My Life I Did, I Do Repent It From My Very Soul. |
37 |
If You Want Something Done Right, You’ve Got To Do It Yourself. |
38 |
If Your Enemy Is Equal, Prepare For Him. If Greater, Elude Him. If Weaker, Crush Him. |
39 |
In God We Trust. |
40 |
In The Land Of The Blind, The One-Eyed Man Is King. |
41 |
It Is Better To Act And Repent Than Not To Act And Regret. |
42 |
It Is Possible To Commit No Mistakes And Still Lose. That Is Not A Weakness. That Is Life. |
43 |
It’s In Our Nature To Want To Forget Truths That Keep Us Awake At Night. |
44 |
It’s Not What Remains, But What Is Taken Away. |
45 |
Justice Has A Price. The Price Is Freedom. |
46 |
Law Above All Else. |
47 |
Let Them See Our Teeth. |
48 |
Life Becomes Death Becomes New Life. |
49 |
Lose A Battle To Win The War. |
50 |
Love Is Putting Someone Else’s Needs Before Yours. |
51 |
Make The Most Of Now. |
52 |
Music Hath Charms To Soothe A Savage Breast, To Soften Rocks, Or Bend A Knotted Oak. |
53 |
My Country, Right Or Wrong; If Right, To Be Kept Right; And If Wrong, To Be Set Right. |
54 |
Never Attribute To Malice That Which Is Adequately Explained By Stupidity. |
55 |
Never Point A Weapon At Someone You Don’t Intent To Kill. |
56 |
No Light Lasts Forever. |
57 |
No Pain, No Gain. |
58 |
No Sorcery Lies Beyond My Grasp. |
59 |
None Can Escape Their Fate. |
60 |
Only In Death Does Duty End. |
61 |
Peace Through Power. |
62 |
Power Corrupts; Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. |
63 |
Rest Is For The Dead. |
64 |
Small Thieves Hang, Great Ones Prosper. |
65 |
Spreading Enlightenment At The Tip Of A Spear. |
66 |
The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves. |
67 |
The Brightest Light Is Invisible. It Shines Through Your Deeds And Warms The Universe. |
68 |
The Fact That The Price Must Be Paid Is Proof It Is Worth Paying. |
69 |
The Grave Is No Bar To My Call. |
70 |
The Light Shall Be Blackened, And Chaos Shall Reign. |
71 |
The Love Of Money Is A Root Of All Evil. |
72 |
The Moral High Ground Is An Excellent Place To Park Your Catapults. |
73 |
The Only Good Is Knowledge, The Only Evil Is Ignorance. |
74 |
The Power To Cause Pain Is The Only Power That Matters. |
75 |
The Self-Righteous Shall Choke On Their Sanctimony. |
76 |
The Simplest Answer Is Most Often Correct. |
77 |
The Wise Only Fight Battles They Know They Can Win. |
78 |
There Can Be No Victory Without Sacrifice. |
79 |
They Say It Can’t Be Done. That’s Why I’m Here. |
80 |
Those To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Asked. |
81 |
Through Conflict, One’s Nature Is Revealed. |
82 |
To A Bad Hunter, The Woods Are Always Empty. |
83 |
To Compel Another Into Service Is To Deny The Very Breath Of Life. |
84 |
To Like Is To Want But To Love Is To Give. |
85 |
Train Yourself To Let Go Of Everything You Fear To Lose. |
86 |
Truth Is Like A Sculpture, One Perspective Is Never Enough For True Understanding. |
87 |
War Is An Equation, Death The Solution. |
88 |
We Secure. We Contain. We Protect. |
89 |
We Work In The Dark To Serve The Light. |
90 |
Wear Your Weakness Like An Armor And It Can Never Be Used To Hurt You. |
91 |
When You Gaze Into An Abyss, The Abyss Also Gazes Into You. |
92 |
Where Go The Living, The Dead Soon Follow. |
93 |
Where My Shadow Falls, There Falls My Foe. |
94 |
Who Cannot Endure, Is Entombed. |
95 |
Wisdom Consists Of Knowing How To Distinguish The Nature Of Trouble, And In Choosing The Lesser Evil. |
96 |
You Are Free To Choose But You Are Not Free From The Consequence Of Your Choices. |
97 |
You Have The Right To Take My Life. Just Know That I Will Also Take Yours. |
98 |
You Only Miss The Water When The Well Runs Dry. |
99 |
Where Piety Fails, My Hammer Falls. |
100 |
Whether The Wolf Beats The Bear Or The Bear Beats The Wolf, The Rabbit Always Loses. |