Officio Assassinorum
From Warhammer 40k
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[edit] Overview
The Officio Assassinorum is an Imperial agency that trains and employs different assassin temples to further the goals of the Imperium of Man. Although the Inquisition strikes fear in the hearts of all Imperial citizens, loyal and corrupt alike, the deadly disciples of the Officio Assassinorum strike fear in the hearts of even the most savvy, battle-hardened of warriors.
Assassins are typically deployed alone wherever feasible, having been trained to operate extensively behind enemy lines with no support. Given the sheer political power of the organization and the fact that its operatives are known to have been used against rival High Lords, the authorization to assassinate a target must come from the highest echelons of Imperial command. For this reason, Assassins are watched very closely to make sure that they are under the control of the imperium.
During its early history all 6 Assassinorium temples were located on Terra, However after the Wars of Vindication (In which a renegade group of assassins tried to overthrow the grand master of the time) and the terrible atrocities it precipitated, the Assassin temples were split up and are now located across the galaxy. Similarly, an inquisitorial body was set up to monitor the officio assassanorium, and its power limited - now assassinations can only be preformed after receiving a 2/3 vote from the senate on Terra.
Almost nothing is known about the locations of the temples, however a small reference to the Culexus temple is made in a piece of fiction in Codex: Necrons
[edit] Temples
There are four major Assassinorum 'temples', each specializing in a different form or method of assassination.
[edit] Callidus Temple
Assassins of the Callidus Temple use deceit and trickery to accomplish their objectives, usually assisted by the shape-changing Polymorphine drug.
[edit] Culexus Temple
The Culexus Temple are one of the most sinister and feared orders of the Officio Assassinorum and have been described by Eldar warlocks as nothing short of pure evil.
[edit] Vindicare Temple
The most prominent feature of the Vindicare Temple is that it trains its subjects to near-perfection in the art of marksmanship; they aim to take out the Emperor's worst enemies with a single bullet. Vindicare assassins are notorious for being beyond callous in the execution of their duties. This reputation as cold-blooded, killers has made the name "Vindicare Assassin" a title feared and by all levels of the Imperial hierarchy as well as the enemies of the Imperium.
[edit] Eversor Temple
The Eversor is possibly the most gruesome of the many temples of the Officio Assassinorum. The Eversor specialise in shock and terror tactics, instilling fear of Imperial retribution into the hearts and minds of all who hold positions of power.
[edit] Others
There are two more major temples that do not have miniatures in the game, and thus not much information about them has been compiled into official sources. One of them, Venenum, deals in assassination through poisoning. Of the other, Vanus, nothing is known (though the Latin word "Vanus" means "Empty").
The Officio Assassinorum also maintains patronage over numerous minor assassin temples and death cults.
In the non-canon webcomic, "Servants of the Imperium" one of the main characters belongs to the "Temple Secretum," seemingly a temple named for its dedication to keeping the Imperium's darkest secrets rather than for a preferred method of killing.
[edit] References
- Thorpe, Gav (1999). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Assassins. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-019-6.
- The Inquisition War trilogy:
- Watson, Ian (1993). Inquisitor. London: Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-835-3.
- Watson, Ian (1995). Harlequin. London: Boxtree. ISBN 0-7522-0610-9.
- Watson, Ian (1995). Chaos Child. London: Boxtree. ISBN 0-7522-0621-4.
- Witch Hunters Miniature Gallery – Callidus Temple Assassins. Games Workshop. Retrieved on 2006-03-01.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It was imported from the Wikipedia article "Officio Assassinorum". The previous authors can be seen on this page's history.
