Quotes you can build a character off of III: It's a crowd

[mr_odd]

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

"Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe."

"Patience is the companion of wisdom."

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."

"Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility."

"Work as though everything depended on you."

"Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation."

-Saint Augustine of Hippo

[Vknight]

"Look just because the bullet doesn't break the skin doesn't mean it won't hurt."

"Its a cocktail, well chemical cocktail look point is I can mix more then drinks."

"A lethal dose is possible with about anything, probable no? Possible yes."

"So anything you wanna say before I take this shoot?" *bang*, "Oh crap you were going to say something; darn it I never let them say any last words."

"So I can reach Mach 3, well that is pretty cool, now if I just had some clothes which survived the friction"

"Listen its nice you want to fight me but I've killed dragons/TITANs(fill with appropriate to setting), your not all that scary to me and I most certainly am not going to lose"

[King539]

8BitNinja:

"I cast magic missile at the darkness"

Lawful Good Sorcerer

+50 EXP for all who get the reference

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Scanlan approves. +1 Bardic Inspiration for you.

On topic, someone may have already done this, but...
"I am Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
-Inigo Montoya

Swashbuckler, Vengeance Paladin. Feel free to change the name.

[Cluedrew]

"Excuse me, I need to go cough up some blood."

Spoiler: My interpretation

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It sounds like something one would say after hearing or seeing something really disgusting. Similar to "I need to throw up".

... I've actually used that expression before, in that context, when I'm feeling dramatic. So I guess someone who is dramatic and does not handle disgusting well.

"This spot marks our grave. But you may rest here, too, if you [wish]."

That is very different from how I read it.

Spoiler: My Interpretation

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A determined warrior who has decided to lay down his life in this one last battle.
I initially read this as a threat to his opponent, offering to drag them with him to the grave.
My second reading is speaking to his allies, asking if anyone else will join his apparent suicide mission.

Sidenote: I thought it said 'my grave' at first.

So sort of a "we die where we stand" thing... that also works. Someone who will walk with open eyes to the end. I like it.

Spoiler: "I laugh at in the face of their superior intellect!"

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-El Goonish Shive: Commentary

Several interpretations:

• Someone who admits to a fault (low intellect) but does not let it stop them.
• Someone who admits to a fault (low intellect) but does not accommodate for it.
• Someone who does not put a lot of stack in the established criteria.
• Someone who knows something that you can't figure out on intellect alone.
• Someone impulsive who thinks over-thinking leads to problems.

Spoiler: "Arrive before those faster than you, over power those stronger than you, and know the minds of those wiser than you."

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Although this does feel like sage advice it is also very competitive. Possibly a warrior monk, the old master, giving advice about how to use what you have effectively.

Yet there is something just a little bit off about it. Can't quite put my figure on it, maybe it is just a little to focused on victory. But maybe there is something off about the master too. Do they train the darker monks? Maybe they are hiding something?

Spoiler: "She killed Damien. She could kill twelve Damiens. Those twelve Damiens could merge to form one super Damien, and she could kill that." {HISS} "EEP!" "Assuming Damien didn't do anything to startle her."

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-El Goonish Shive

Raw power does not a warrior make.

A character who has the power, but not the training or attitude or nerve to back it up.

Spoiler: "But they're good people. Well... They're people. I think."

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-Manifold Destiny

Generally helpful folk you know nothing about. And I'm guessing you just sort of know that trying to find out more would not be met well.

Spoiler: "All of your selfies have explosions in the background."

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-Manifold Destiny

I sort of like the idea of someone getting really close to the action to get that picture. A show-off action junky.

[8BitNinja]

The impossible goal in this analogy would be 'stopping the xenomorphs'

The Marines didn't stop the xenomorphs, Ripley did.

[HalfTangible]

The Marines didn't stop the xenomorphs, Ripley did.

Nah, she didn't.

You can't stop the xenomorphs.

They always win.

Mostly because Weyland-Yutani is the dumb.

[Belac93]

“Such is the vastness of his genius that he can outwit even himself.”
― Steven Erikson, Deadhouse Gates

“The heart of wisdom is tolerance.”
― Steven Erikson, Memories of Ice

[8BitNinja]

Nah, she didn't.

You can't stop the xenomorphs.

They always win.

Mostly because Weyland-Yutani is the dumb.

I mean that in the movie Alien and Aliens, Ripley is the one that resolved the conflict. The Marines helped, but most died before the rescue transport came. At that time, the xenomorph casualties were extremely low.

[Michael7123]

"The world isn't worth saving. It never was."

Somone formerly good aligned who decided "if you can't beat them, join them." Doesn't think good exists.

[8BitNinja]

"From now on I see a red sash (sign of the bandit gang terrorizing the town), I kill the man wearing it. So run you cur. And tell the other curs the law is coming. You tell 'em I'm coming! And Hell's coming with me you hear! Hell's coming with me!" -Wyatt Earp, Tombstone

A good one for a Paladin of Vengeance

[Belac93]

"We're all puppets. I'm just a puppet that can see the strings."
-The Watchmen.

[Vknight]

"Hey... hey I know what your thinking. And yes its going to get worse, but that's the fun with torture!"
-Someone very, very evil

"Now, don't start claiming I do not respect the law that couldn't be further from the truth. I respect it deeply, I will just exploit it viciously for my own gain. The law is here to protect as much as control and I'm just playing the game"

"The problem with moral codes on a assassin is they won't take the jobs people most want em for."

"I can tell right now you walked in here and your from a 1 fish town, well the problem is son this is the ocean and your not the big fish anymore."

[8BitNinja]

"HERO!
Don't wanna hear you calling out my name
I'm not here for fortune and fame
HERO!
Instead, I'll fight knowing nobody knows my name...
(Nobody knows who he is!)
My foes are closing in and covering the sky!

...but I won't turn my back tonight!
HERO!
I'll stay - until I taste the dirt of defeat someday"
- One Punch Man Opening (Fan Translation)

A good one for any Good character

[HalfTangible]

"Born into battle, raised by a war. We're born to battle cuz we're battleborn...* this is all we know:

We'll fight together, or die alone." -Team of warriors (from this rap)

*I'll be honest, I can't tell what was said here

[Douche]

It's a little too specific, but the most awesome quote I've ever heard from a videogame is:

"You speak of knowledge, Judicator? You speak of experience? I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities... Unto my experience, Aldaris, all that you've built here on Aiur is but a fleeting dream. A dream from which your precious Conclave shall awaken, finding themselves drowned in a greater nightmare."

Spoken by Zeratul, in Starcraft

[8BitNinja]

"A wise man fights to win, but he is twice a fool who has no plan for possible defeat."

A fighter with high WIS

[Dravda]

I was reading The Art of War the other day, and I highly recommend it. It's surprisingly short and sweet, but has a wealth of wisdom and ideas. Here are some highlights:

• Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.
• If your opponent is of choleric temper, irritate him.
• To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
• Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.
• Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.
• Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.
• Balk the enemy's power; force him to reveal himself.
• The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
• In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.
• Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.
• When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.
• So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.
• What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
• When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move.
• The skillful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the shuai-jan is a snake that is found in the Ch'ang mountains. Strike at its head, and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail, and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle, and you will be attacked by head and tail both.
• If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.

[HalfTangible]

"Now do you understand why so many people love me, even though I'm the biggest **** in this entire show?! It's because I'm Seto freaking Kaiba, accept no substitutes!" -Yugioh Abridged

[Cluedrew]

Before I get to the quotes I thought I would point at some other threads that are about getting the seed idea of a character, one uses songs and the other any 10 words. On to the quotes.

Spoiler: "He's a genius, but we had to outsource his common sense."

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Someone who's brain is so filled with high level knowledge beyond our understanding that all the low level knowledge we understand got forced out. Also seems to be working in a business/group context, maybe the absent minded professor who actually works at a university, or the head researcher at a company's R&D department.

The last of which makes me think of a Shadowrun character for some reason.

Spoiler: "Grace, this is George. Should you work here, your first challenge will not be strangling this man."

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-El Goonish Shive

Some people just always get under your skin. Not in "I hate this man" way but in "he can be annoying some times" way as no one has actually strangled George. Still balancing it out is important.

Spoiler: "In fact, if there is a name for a job, I've probably done it. If there isn't a name for it, it's pretty much a guarantee I've done it."

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-Underdogs

A drifter, and one near the bottom of the stack as you go up the jobs tend to get fancier and fancier names. You could stop there, someone who does odd jobs, but you could also give them a really broad or general skill base to show that past.

Spoiler: "What you are attempting is impossible!" "Irrelevant."

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OK, originally I was thinking someone who believed in doing something out of principle. Will to the right thing even though it is not going to accomplish anything. Which is getting into Lawful Stupid territory, but maybe they think that the attempt itself will accomplish something, send a message.

But then the determined voice I had been reading the second line with became light-hearted and joking. For some reason the speaker flicked their hand as they spoke as if pushing the first comment aside. Now I suppose you could strap that very different image onto the same idea but I'm going to change it up a bit. Now it really seems to be about fanfare, making a statement and having fun with it. Someone who seeks adventure and drama and with those doesn't need conventional success.

Spoiler: "She skipped eighteen." "No... She took out two with one shot."

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-Middleways

A really good shot. Also a systematic one as she was counting out the kills.

Finally, I have one I would like to pitch to the thread and see what everyone else comes up with.

I can hear your heart beating.

[eru001]

Yes it is. It is exactly that simple. Follow the code at all times, and things will work out in the end. That is why we have the code.

-Sir Matthew Pikebreaker

[8BitNinja]

Yes it is. It is exactly that simple. Follow the code at all times, and things will work out in the end. That is why we have the code.

-Sir Matthew Pikebreaker

Sounds like a LG or LN character.

[CrazyPenguin]

"Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

"I don't believe there is a power in the verse that can stop Kaylee from being cheerful."

"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

"Sweetie, we're crooks. If everything were right, we'd be in jail."

"If anyone gets nosy, just, you know... shoot 'em."
"Shoot 'em?"
"Politely."


"So. Would you like to lecture me on the wickedness of my ways?"
"No, I brought you supper. Although if you'd prefer a lecture, I've a few very catchy ones prepped. Sin and hellfire... one has lepers."

"Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering people issue?"

"Don't think it's a good spot, sir. She still has the advantage over us."
"Everyone always does. That's what makes us special."

"Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job . And then I get paid."

"I've been out of the abbey two days, I've beaten a lawman senseless, I've fallen in with criminals. I watched the captain shoot the man I swore to protect. And I'm not even sure if I think he was wrong."

"How come you didn't turn on me, Jayne?"
"Money wasn't good enough."
"What happens when it is?"
[smiling] "Well... that'll be an interesting day."

"You had the Alliance on you, criminals and savages… half the people on this ship have been shot or wounded, including yourself, and you’re harboring known fugitives."
"We’re still flying."
"That’s not much."
"It’s enough."

[Vknight]

"Listen there mind was broken so its not like this isn't a step up for them"

"I'm the best duelist in the world. And that is the truth of this situation let me show you"

[falcon1]

Mal: We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty. - Someone who doesn't give a crap about odds or rules, and just goes for it. And wins

Allosaurus: Har har har! Mine is an evil laugh! Now die! -For a mustache twirling, Dastardly Whiplash type character


Mal: Say that to my face.
Lund: I said, you're a coward, and a pisspot. Now what are you gonna do about it?
Mal: Nothin'. I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind ya. - Someone very pragmatic about fighting. Has no concept of honor

[eru001]

Sounds like a LG or LN character.

LG. He is a Knight of the Royal Guard of the Good Kingdom

[HalfTangible]

"Be humble, or be humbled."

[8BitNinja]

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace" -George Washington

A good one for a fighter

[GreyStormcrow]

"Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service."

"Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it."

"Unlucky? Not at all, I have plenty of luck. It's just all bad luck."

"We don't run from the end of the world. We CHARGE!"

"A good magician never reveals how a trick is done. An evil magician never leaves any evidence that there was a trick in the first place. So which am I going to have to be today?"

"I am a stick."

“Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”

“Why did it seem that the more he demonstrated himself to be an idiot, the more convinced people became that he had some kind of hidden depths?”

"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”

"I'm not senile. I just talk to myself because the rest of you don't provide adequate conversation."

“It kills me sometimes, how people die.”

“Hello! Would you like to destroy some evil today?”

"He’d already killed one god. The second murder was always easier than the first.”

[8BitNinja]

“Hello! Would you like to destroy some evil today?”

This is every good character I have made.

[Lord Raziere]

This is every good character I have made.

Oddly, that quote is from a crazy talking sword that doesn't know what evil is, only that its commanded to destroy it.

So.....it can also be the source of many crazy people with maniacal grins who THINK they know what evil is and kill whoever they think is evil, or only have a fuzzy idea of morality and think that destroying evil is enough. lots of fun, and is a good potential party member who while not being Good, can still work with good people to define what "evil" is to be destroyed.