Chapter 20 - Assassin ===================== +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |"For those that defy the Imperium, only the Emperor can judge your crimes.| | Only in death can you receive the Emperors Judgement." | | - Motto of the Officio Assassinorum | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 20.1 Introduction =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ruling the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Mankind requires absolute authority, and this must be enforced by the use of absolute power. In its crudest form, power means armies of warriors, war machines, and spacecraft, but it can also be applied in more subtle ways to achieve the desired end. Coercion, bribery, threats, blackmail and murder are all weapons in the armoury of those who rule. To this end, the Imperium has developed several institutions to study, perfect and exploit these weapons to their fullest, ancient institutions that trace their history back to the Great Crusade and the very birth of the Imperium. One such organisation is the Officio Assassinorum. The Officio Assassinorum, or Office of Assassins, is one of the most secretive organisations in the Imperium. Its hidden Grand Master of Assassins is one of the High Lords of Terra, the cabal of awesomely powerful individuals whose every decision affects untold billions of people and immense tracts of the Imperium. Only the High Lords themselves can sanction the deployment of the Assassins, for fear that their own weapons may be used against them. It is said that in the distant past the Grand Masters used Assassins to further their own ends, and a reign of terror clutched even the High Lords themselves. In the anarchic Wars of Vindication, the Grand Master himself fell to the Assassins knife. Thereafter, the High Lords took special care to control the Officio Assassinorum so that, in theory, only traitors and Heretics need fear it today. The Officio Assassinorum is considered, by the few individuals who are even aware of its existance, to be the ultimate tool of destruction and diplomacy. In an Imperium that spans an entire galaxy, there are many who believe that they can defy its authority. Some simply crave for independence away from the Imperial Cult, the Ecclesiarchy and a galaxy seemingly ruled by twelve faceless figures in the name of a lifeless Emperor. Others have fallen under the domination of Genestealers or been seduced by the promises of Chaos. This is the Assassins battleground - the misguided and the ambitious, the foolish and the perverted, all must be purged for the greater good of Humanity. No Heretics can be allowed to stand against the Imperium or their foul thoughts would spread across the Galaxy like a cankerous infection, crippling what is already a very frail organisation. Planetary rulers across the Imperium must understand that abuse of their power will result in them facing the justice of the sword and gun. Some may be able to avoid the judiciaries of the Adeptus Arbites, fewer still may be able to face off against the Imperial Guard, Adeptus Sororitas and Adeptus Astartes, but none can stand against the Officio Assassinorum. 20.2 History =-=-=-=-=-=-= The history of the Officio Assassinorum is a mixed one. Created long ago, there can be no doubt it has proved its worth to the Imperium and stopped countless Heresies in their tracks. Marking its birth back in a time when the Emperor still walked the Earth during the Great Crusade, it was formed when a group of individuals took it upon themselves to hunt down those who would bring ruination to the Emperors divine plan. They followed him from world to world, silently ensuring promises were not broken, treaties and pacts adhered to. The annals of the Officio Assassinorum record that they did this without the Emperor apparently being aware, though this is unlikely given his psychic abilities. Finally, the annals say, they revealed themselves to him. The records tell that great temples were constructed on Terra, and the Officio Assassinorum was formed. Prestigious and successful as its history may be, however, those studying the chronicles in the Imperial Vaults would discover it has a darker side to its history. Following the reign of Lord Vandire over the Administratum, the Reign of Blood, took place what the history vaults call the Wars of Vindication within the Officio Assassinorum. During the Reign of Blood, Lord Vandire, by one means or another, took effective control of all the departments of the Administratum, including the Officio Assassinorum. The then Grand Master of Assassins, High Lord Weiramon, resisted Vandire, striving to stop him gaining any foothold in the Officio Assassinorum. But as Vandires hold on the Imperium tightened, it became obvious to Weiramon that vandire had somehow enlisted the help of the Officio. Several reports of dead and missing officials and dignitories pointed toward involvement by the Officio Assassinorum. Of course, all the assassinations concerned were carried out perfectly and with no obvious traces of Officio Assassinorum involvement, but Weiramon was familiar with the Modus Operandi of all the hidden temples of the Officio, be they the Vindicare, Callidus, Eversor, Culexus, Venenum or any other. There were enough clues within the reports to detect a pattern. In addition, all the deaths appeared to be terribly convenient for advancing Lord Vandires goals. So the question was, who was Vandires man within the Officio? Looking at the reports of missing people and deaths, there was no one temple responsible. Some were the responsiblity of Weiramons own Vindicare temple, others horribly mauled by an Eversor Assassin, and many poisonings quite easily the work of the Venenum temple. The list implicated many temples, making it impossible to point the finger in any one direction. So to one of two conclusions - the first of which was that the Officio had been corrupted to its core by Vandire, by bribes and blackmail. This was highly unlikely, with the culture of secrecy in the Officio, such that even Vandire could only know a few individuals in the organisation. The only other possibility lay with the Callidus temple. Using the shape altering drug Polymorphine, the temple was notorious for infiltrating other Imperial organisations. With such skills, the Callidus temple could easily infiltrate the Officio itself. The final evidence was the presence of a man called Tziz Jarek. As the Director Primus of the Callidus temple he was a powerful figure within the Officio, and Weiramons arch-rival. When the time had come for a new Grand Master, Jarek was engaged on a mission infiltrating the Dark Eldar, and Jarek headed the mission himself. A year had passed without word of or from Jareks team, and the position was given to Weiramon. When Jarek returned a year later, he was dismayed to find the post of Grand Master taken. With both Jarek and Weiramon inducted at about the same time, at about the same age, by the time the event came for a new Grand Master, Jarek would be either dead or too old himself. Unless Weiramon suffered a fatal accident in the meantime... Lord Vandire knew of this rivalry too, having been one of the High Lords giving Weiramon the post. Having failed to get the Officio to do his bidding through Weiramon, Vandire used Jarek to get a foothold. Jarek infiltrated several temples, removing a high ranking official from each and replacing them with a Callidus Assassin doing Jareks bidding. When Lord Vandire fell, many offices of the Administratum were ordered to purge their own ranks. The Officio was and is an unforgiving organisation. A purge would be utterly ruthless, and Jarek pulled under even though only unwittingly helping Vandires plans. The only way for Jarek to survive would be to assume the identity of the Grand Master himself. Weiramon knew this also, and had a fake made of the signet ring that was the mark of office of the Grand Master, getting a loyal Callidus assassin to assume his identity. One night Jarek and two other Assassins killed Weiramons double. Weiramon elected to disappear. He now knew what a weak organisation the Officio was - if it could fall victim to the corruption of a few individuals then the entire organisation needed restructuring. To do that it would have to be utterly smashed first. Weiramon started his plan to bring the Officio to its knees, in the opinion that only then would it stand any chance of surviving at all. Weiramon declared all out war. Jarek was in the office of Grand Master, wearing the fake signet ring, but Weiramon was still the Grand Master and a High Lord of Terra. Only he knew the codes that unleashed Eversor Assassins. Only he knew the hidden identity of every single Assassin. Only he could gain access to the Officio Assassinorums secret arsenals, containing some of the most devastating weaponry in the Imperium... Day and night, Assassins loyal to Weiramon battled against the renegades. Eversor Assassins stalked the corridors, the coded identities of renegade Assassins programmed into their subconscious. Vindicare Assassins lay in air ducts and hid in the tall alcoves of the Imperial palace, gunning down traitors with impunity. Hideouts were located and destroyed with lethal demolition charges. Many Assassins risked using weapons from the Officio's secret arsenal, some so unstable as to equally dangerous to its user, or limited in the amount of ammunition available. One by one, the rebel Assassins who supported either Vandire or Jarek were brought down, until only Jarek remained. Weiramon confronted him in the chambers of the Grand Master. Jarek was prepared, with the C'tan Phase Sword and Neural Shredder. But so was Weiramon. From the start he had planned for this. One of the Exitus weapons mounted on the wall was not merely a show piece and a haywire charge lay in the very fabric of the desk - one word and it would detonate. Weiramon said the code word. Jarek looked on in horror as the Haywire grenade sent an electro-static pulse draining the energy from his weapons. Weiramon reached for the Exitus Pistol from the wall and fired. The armament was special. Firstly, it was programmed with Jareks heat signature, to follow him whichever way he dived. Secondly, the rounds were bio-degradable, to leave no trace signature of the weapon that killed him. Jarek was taken out with shots in the head and chest, and the ammo clip was replaced with a conventional round. The Officio Assassinorum had been purged of corruption, but at great cost. The affected limb had to have been removed in its entirity, leaving the Officio Assassinorum in ruins. At the outset of the Wars of Vindication, a signet ring was delivered to the Inquisition, along with a note in an anonymous hand. The signet ring was an exact replica of the one worn by the Grand Master of Assassins, and the note proclaimed the one in the package to the original, while the one worn by the recently deceased Grand Master (actually the double installed by Weiramon) was a fake. The Imperial machine moved to investigate the claims. The ring on the Grand Masters body, in fact, was a data crystal. This threw into doubt the identity of the body in the mausoleum. If it wasn't the Grand Master, then who was it, who had penned the note and where was the real Grand Master? The information in the data crystal was an Adeptus Administratum vault code. Archive-Servitors were despatched to locate the vault. When the vault was opened, several weeks had passed and Weiramon had killed Jarek in the chambers of the Grand Master. In the vault what the Inquisition found was another dead body - the body of the Grand Master preserved in a stasis field. Yet, upon genetic testing this too was not the real Grand Master (in fact, it was Jarek). Stored with the body was a document claiming to be written by the real Grand Master, Weiramon, describing the corruption of the Officio Assassinorum by Vandire and the actions the real Grand Master had taken to bring the Officio to its knees and purge the organisation. The document stated the Grand Master could not possibly continue in as much he was a part of that corrupt organisation and should have been more vigilant in stopping its corruption. The Inquisition concluded that the Officio Assassinorum was in dire need of reorganisation, and like many offices of the Administratum more rigourous monitoring by the Inquisition. An order of the Inquisition was created to monitor the Officio Assassinorum, the Ordo Sicarius. To avoid further embarassment, no further traces of the incident came to light. Imperial records were amended to read "In the anarchic Wars of Vindication the Grand Master himself fell to the Assassins knife. Thereafter, the High Lords took special care to control the Officio Assassinorum so that, in theory, only traitors and heretics need fear it today." The document the former High Lord Weiramon wrote, dated 02345208.M36 to 0132288.M36, closed with the ancient line: "Exitus Acta Probat: The Outcome Justifies the Deed." 20.3 Assassins =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Assassins begin their training in early childhood when they are chosen from the progeny of death worlds, feral societies and the most dangerous hive cities of the Imperium. Training starts even as the ships return to Earth, with the Officio instructors testing their prospective pupils mercilessly. The weak and foolish are weeded out before they even board the ships, and as they journey to Terra the wilful and cowardly are excised in tests of determination and enforced discipline. The recruits must survive on limited food or air for days at a time. They must constantly fight each other in armed and unarmed combat, in conditions of total darkness or blinding light, zero-G or crushing weight, stifling heat or freezing cold. By the time of their arrival there may be only a tenth of the prospective Assassins left, or sometimes none at all if the instructors deem every recruit to be unworthy. On arrival at Earth the new recruits are divided amongst the hidden temples of the Officio Assassinorum. Their training becomes ever more rigourous as the temples test each candidate to his or her utmost limits. days are spent battling with bone-wrenching exercise engines, fighting in deadly bouts or mastering specialist weaponry and techniques. Each temple has its own ancient ways and mysteries, each specialises in a different aspect of the art of murder. There are many such temples, some of which are known and others that remain completely secret. An example of the most thoroughly concealed is the Culexus temple with its horrifying psyker Assassins. Thus, when the High Lords of Terra select their tools of death from the lethal disciplines of the secretive Officio Assassinorum, they are assured of only the most finely honed and efficient living weapons. The main temples of the Officio Assassinorum are the Vindicare, Callidus, Eversor and Culexus, though there are countless others, such as the Venenum temple, specialising in the fatal use of poison. Temples are headed by an individual called the Director Primus of the temple. Most enjoy a certain degree of autonomy within the Officio, in such areas as recritment, training, and even selection of missions. The main exception to this rule is the Culexus temple. All Assassins use Synskin, a protective "spray-on" second skin which also feeds the Assassin counter-toxins to counter balance any foreign substance which gets into his body, making him immune to all non-alien toxins and substances. In particular the Assassin is still vulnerable to Tyranid toxins. The Synskin allows an Assassin to survive in vacuum for a short time. It is airtight, watertight and proof against most gases and all gas-borne toxins. The Assassin cannot be harmed by such grenades as Choke, Halluninagen, Scare, Toxin, Virus, etc. They also all have highly sophistocated bio-implants to enable them to see in the dark or through dense smoke. 20.3.1 The Vindicare Temple ---------------------------- The Vindicare temple specialises in sniper tactics. Vindicare Assassins practise callous, unfeeling destruction which eliminates the target with contemptuous ease. They aim to bring inglorious death to the enemies of the Emperor with a snipers bullet and have elevated the skills of the marksman to an artform. To complement this, the Vindicare temple emphasises stealth and evasion techniques as well as weapons training. One of the temples maxims is that a clean kill can only be made from an excellent firing position, and Vindicare Assassins have been known to occupy a position overlooking their target for weeks before finally taking their shot. The skills of the temple are commonly used to slay those who use mob rule and rousing oratory, many false Messiahs have fallen with a Vindicare bullet through their brains as they preached. Rebellious politicians and revolutionary leaders who speak out against the wisdom of the Imperium have good reason to fear being cut down on the rostrum. When such figures die in this manner, rebellion and possible Heresy is often cut off at the source. Vindicare Assassins carry special armament in the form of the Exitus Long Rifle (short range 36 yds, long 72 yds, damage 1D6+5) and Exitus Pistol (12 yds, 24 yds, 1D6+5). These weapons may load special Exitus Ammunition to either automatically overload a targets forcefield, give extra penetrating power (double damage caused), and hellfire ammunition (triple damage). Other specialist exquipment of the Vindicare are the stealth suit (+20 to all Concealment skill tests) and the spy mask, containing cartridges of concentrated food and water for extended operations, a multi-channel comm sensor for monitoring enemy communications, and a wide-spectrum visor to pick up on heat and energy sources at tremendous distances. M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel 4 70 70 5 5 12 60 4 60 40 50 60 50 30 Weapons: Exitus Rifle - range 36/72 yds, to hit +10/+10, damage 4D6-5 Exitus Pistol - range 12/24 yds, to hit +20/-10, damage 3D6+5 Special ammo available for both: Shield-breaker - Overloads a target force field (refractor field, conversion field, etc.), requiring repair before the field can be used again. In the meantime the protective shield is useless in defence. Turbo-penetrator - Inflicts double damage. Hellfire - Highly explosive shells that create a constrained blast wounding all within half a yard of the point hit. The main target takes double damage from the impact in addition to any fire damage that results. Motto: "Exitus Acta Probat" ('the outcome justifies the deed') 20.3.2 The Callidus Temple --------------------------- Callidus Assassins specialise in deception and infiltration tactics. Subtlety is key to the Callidus methods, and death is but one of a variety of options available to a Callidus Assassin in bringing down a target. The Callidus temple undertakes many covert operations which may involve an Assassin infiltrating an enemy civilisation for months or even years. Their aim is to get close to the chosen target, so that they can carry out their mission. This could range from simply influencing important decisions to eliminating the target at a key moment. To achieve this, the Callidus temple uses a drug called Polymorphine. An injection of this allows a trained Callidus Assassin to completely change their appearance. Under the influence of the drug the users body undergoes dramatic changes whch only a fully trained user can keep under control. Essentially, at a cellular level, the bonds that hold the flesh, bone and nerve cells together are temporarily broken to allow the user to rearrange their cell structure. They can lengthen bones, stretch skin, change the size and shape of their muscles, convert protein cells to fat cells and vice versa, etc. Once the Polymorphine drug has done its work, the cells will not be changed into a new form until another injection of Polymorphine allows them to reassume their original form or change to another. In addition to the drug the Medicus Adepts of the Imperium have developed a range of surgical implants to allow Callidus Assassins to mimic alien races, like Orks and Eldar - even Tyranids! The implants consist of flexi-cartilage and hardened synskin, similar to that used in the hardened rib cage of Space Marines. When not in use the implants lie dormant under flesh and inside bones. When Polymorphine is injected the implants react to allow the assassin to assume the form of an Ork, Eldar, or even a Genestealer! When using the drug Callidus Assassins must concentrate totally, and have complete empathy with the subject they are trying to replicate. The Callidus temple has found the female form is better able to cope with these changes, and by and large the female novitiates tend to make better chaemeleons than the men. Apart from Polymorphine, Callidus Assassins use other special weaponry. Foremost is the C'tan Phase Sword, originally found on one of the dead worlds of the C'tan. The Adeptus Mechanicus found numerous examples of highly advanced technology, but of the C'tans there was no sign. The blade of the Phase Sword is able to phase in and out of reality by molecular realignment, so is capable of bypassing armour and protective fields. If attacked by a C'tan Phase Sword a targets armour and protective fields provide no protection at all. Callidus Assassins also carry a Neural Shredder, a small device which interferes with the targets nervous system by some unknown means. It has a fairly short range (16 yds) but if the target fails a T test subject to a -10 penalty, damage of D6 Wounds is inflicted. The Neural Shredders origins are unknown. In addition, Callidus agents all have concealed poison blades, as they must often fight with little or no weaponry available. They are well trained in this field of combat. M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel 4 70 70 5 5 12 60 4 60 40 50 60 50 60 Weapons: C'tan Phase sword - Close combat, 4D6+5 damage Neural Shredder - Affects cone shaped area extending 16yds and maximum width of 5 yds, or a single target, depending on setting. Affects the nervous system of target(s). Those hit must pass a T test or take D6 damage, regardless of armour. Motto: "To assume the shape of the accursed and deliver death from the purity within you" 20.3.3 The Eversor Temple -------------------------- The Eversor temple of Assassins specialises in shock and terror tactics. They are used against rebel governors who have plans to move against the Imperium with an armed force of renegades. Rather than launch a costly war, an Eversor Assassin may be commissioned to go in and sow havoc and terror. The Assassin just kills, kills anyone and everything. The enemy is utterly destroyed by the Eversors unstoppable attack. Eversor Assassins are trained to be completely ruthless and dedicated to the Imperium. Using specialised knowledge of genetics and human biology, every single Eversor Assassin is engineered to be a super-human killing machine, their bodies driven past normal human capabilities by genetic alterations and advanced bionics. In combat drugs shift the assassins state of mind to that of a psychopath and push his body to its limit. Unfortunately, many of the drugs used are highly addictive. Without them, the Assassin will die. With them, he can't stop killing! The result is an addiction to the killing.... The only way Eversor Assassins can be kept under control is to keep them in cryo-suspension until they are required for a mission. Each Eversor Assassin is stored in a cryo-crypt on board one of the many hidden ships that the Eversor temple have scattered across the Imperium. These ships maintain a constant state of alert, waiting only for orders from the High Lords of Terra to unleash their deadly cargoes. When selected, the Assassin is transferred from the cryo-crypt to a special drop-pod, where neuro-links feed the details of the mission to him while he remains in cryo-suspension. The pod is launched at the target planet, as remote links with the spaceship reanimate the Assassin and ready his finely tuned body with all he needs to complete the mission. When the pod impacts, the Assassin is awake and ready to work. He will be totally unaware of the time spent in suspension, to the Assassin the gap between the mission and the last will be mere moments. An Eversors assault is so swift and ruthless that his (most are men) foes are rarely aware they are under attack until the doors of their sanctuary are torn off at the hinges - by which time its too late... When the Eversor is finished, a control signal is sent to the Assassins control systems, which initiate a shutdown so that the Assassin can be safely recovered. The shutdown, however, is sometimes only reliable for a short time, so the Assassin must be quickly returned to cryo-suspension following recovery. Like Space Marines, recruits for the Eversor temple are chosen young. This is because only a body which isn't fully developed is able to accept the many implants and alterations that the novitiate will undergo. The process of becoming an Eversor Assassin is long with the extensive testing, genetic manipulation and drugs turning each Assassin into a living experiment. At first, results from training exercises are used to determine which alterations are most suitable. After that the real experiments begin... The masters of the Eversor temple and the Medicus Adepts are constantly developing and adapting a special programme of genetics, bio-implants and chemical boosters to enhance the Assassins body beyond what a normal human could endure. The Assassin undergoes endo-skeletal restructuring, gains a second heart, his brain is fitted with lobo-chips to change his state of mind, and so on. This process is not without its dangers. Many Assassins have died on the operating table, or experienced some unforeseen side effect of the drugs and alterations. Some psyched-up Assassins have gone on a killing spree in the labs, while an incapacitated Assassin (if for example, his brain or heart(s) can no longer cope with the pressure) can become dangerous as he loses full control of the chemical concoctions in his body - with interesting or sometimes explosive results... Eversor Assassins wear a skull mask, whose dual function is to both terrify those the Eversor is assigned to remove and enhance his senses. They carry the special Executor Pistol, which functions as a combi-weapon comination of a bolt pistol and needle pistol. He wears a Sentinel Array, enabling him to sense movement on all sides around him and giving an effective 360 degree arc of vision and fire. Finally he carries a Neuro-Gauntlet. This is an exo-skeleton hyper-alloy glove with neuro-toxin injectors fitted to the fingers. It injects lethal toxins that make targets die in a highly painful manner (halve all characteristics immediately on ingestion, death in D6 rounds if not killed by the strength of the attack). M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel 4 70 70 7 7 20 80 5 60 40 50 90 90 0 Weapons: Executor Pistol - A combined Bolt Pistol and Needle Pistol. Counts as a standard combi-weapon. Only one of the two can be firedin any round. Neuro-gauntlet - Close combat weapon. An exo-skeleton hyper-alloy glove with neuro-toxin injectors on the fingers. Toxin is as above. 20.3.4 The Culexus Temple -------------------------- Have you ever met someone you just couldn't 'get a feel for'? Someone you just didn't somehow feel wholely comfortable with? Someone who, for some reason you couldn't quite pin down, made your skin crawl? Whose very presence made you nauseous? The chances are, that person was a Psychic Void. Most people exist partly in both the normal physical world and as a spark in the psychic sea of the Warp. Psykers especially glow brightly in the Warp, and Eldar souls shine as bright as a star. Other, rare, people, seem to have no Warp presence whatsoever - a psychic void, effectively soulless. The basic human evaluation of someone you unconsciously make when you meet them reports nothing about these individuals, leading to extreme distrust and discomfort. This extremely rare defect occurs in less than one in a billion individuals. Tales have grown up around these people, of whom it is said that meeting their eyes is an experience one can never forget, seeming to draw you into a void, a pool of nothingness. Even being near them can make the most hardened person uncomfortable. It is hardly surprising, that these people, branded pariah, untouchable, are treated like outcasts or lepers, rejected from settlements. Local superstitions warn against touching them, saying it will bring bad luck. They are hunted by the Inquisition, and live lives as loners. However, the trait can also be occasionally useful. Psychic Voids, properly trained, can psychically maim or even kill a psyker at the level of their very soul, and this is exactly the way the Officio Assassinorum uses them. When these individuals started appearing, they were at first rounded up and sent back to Terra aboard the Inquisition Black Ships. There, they were given over to the Biologis department of the Adeptus Mechanicus for experimentation. It wasn't long before a large number of these Pariahs was languishing in the cells at the experimental labs. Such a large number of Pariahs began to cast a shadow in the Warp, blocking out the psychic signal of the Astronomican. Other branches of the Administratum, especially those that relied on psykers or the Astronomican, were horrified. Several High Lords of Terra were soon making moves to have Pariahs exterminated by the Inquisition. A number of High Lords including the Paternal Envoy of the Navigators, the Master of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, and the Master of the Astronomican pushed for the Master of the Administratum to make this an official degree to rid the Imperium of these freaks that threatened the very survival of their departments. This was all very unfortunate for the Officio Assassinorum, who had been secretly working with the Adeptus Mechanicus to see if they could be used to kill Psykers. The work was going well and many years had been spent developing specialist wargear and training techniques. And this was all about to be ruined by a religious witchhunt... The decree of the Administratum never came - it didn't need to. The Adeptus Mechanicus made a great show of closing down the laboratoriums and executing many of the specimens. Satisfied, the High Lords turned their attentions to other matters. But close study of the records would reveal the number of executions did not match the number of Pariahs contained within the labs at the time. With the help of the Officio Assassinorum, the Adeptus Mechanicus moved some of the most promising Pariahs to a secretly constructed fortress on the edge of the Galaxy, beyond the reach of the Astronomican and the more zealous branches of the Adeptus Terra. It is here the Culexus temple of Assassins was created and still operates from. The Officio Assassinorum is responsible for this fortress and ensuring all Pariahs are kept within its bounds. Most of the other Assassinorum temples are allowed a certain degree of autonomy, but the Culexus temple is specifically run by the highest members of the Officio Assassinorum. All Pariahs and Culexus Assassins are kept within the fortress, only allowed to leave under a veil of secrecy and security. While it cannot be doubted the Culexus temple has proved itself useful on countless occasions, there are factions within the Imperium that would see every single Pariah executed and the Culexus temple utterly destroyed. When the Culexus temple receives a mission, an Assassin is chosen and transported to the field of conflict on board a specially shielded ship, much like the Black Ships of the Inquisition. In addition, the Assassin wears a huge helm called an Animus Speculum. This has the dual purpose of firing focused blasts in battle, and blocking out the Culexus Assassins natural abilities off the battlefield. Even when worn, the helm is only partially effective in its latter function, and each Culexus Assassin is accompianied by a Custodian who operates the Animus Speculum and ensures his charge remains under control and does not arouse suspicion amongst other forces or organisations. The Culexus temple has found the slight natural distrust a Pariah naturally has can be trained and enhanced to the nauseous, head-spinning effect which is the trademark effect of a Culexus Assassin. A Culexus Assassin carries no gun or other hand held weapon, for he needs none. The Custodian, safely positioned in a command bunker or on an orbital battleship, releases his hold over the Assassin. The large eye in the Animus Speculum opens, and only then does the full scale of the Assassins abilities flood the battlefield. He attacks using blasts of "negative" psychic energy, slipping through battle lines and bodyguards befuddled by the head-spinning effect of the Culexus Assassins presence. A well placed psychic blast can strip an enemy psyker of their powers before the Culexus Assassin goes in for the kill, sapping the very life force from their bodies. On the battlefield, with the Animus Speculum open, the aura of a Culexus Assassin is so abhorrent that peoples minds often cannot properly take the stimulus in. If a viewer of a Culexus Assassin whose Animus Speculum is open passes a secret WP roll, his mind can take the stimulus and he can see the Assassin. Otherwise the subjects mind refuses to take the information in and the Assassin is effectively invisible to the viewer. Culexus Assassins carry two items of wargear - an Etherium and his Animus Speculum. The Etherium is a highly advanced form of Aegis Suit that links up with the Assassins Synskin. Combined with the attributes of the Culexus Assassin, this makes psychic attacks pass right over the Culexus Assassin as though invisible (an application of fluid dynamics to psychic energy - the Etherium makes the energy flow round and over the Assassin). Physical psychic weapons, such as Force Swords or Tyranid Boneswords, operate as only a normal, non-Force weapon providing the Assassin passes a secret WP test rolled by the GM. Built into the Etherium is a Force Matrix, which attracts and captures any stray psychic energy in the vicinity of the Assassin - in many cases when a psyker uses a power he is not always efficient in using all the energy and much of it is simply left to dissipate. This gives the Assassin, with no direct tap to the Warp, a source of Warp energy. The closer a Culexus Assassin gets to a psyker, the more he can absorb. When a psyker uses a power, a percentage of the energy equal to 100 minus his WP is lost, dissipated. If near a Culexus Assassin, this is the amount of Warp energy that the Assassin will absorb (expressed in Psy Points). The Culexus Assassin can then selectively use this stored psychic energy to make psychic blasts of his own. An Animus Speculum, as stated above, has a dual purpose. Its primary purpose is as a restraining device. On the battlefield it functions as a weapon capable of focusing the Assassins negative aura through the single large Eye on the front into a strong beam of energy, burning into the targets link to the Warp and sucking out their soul [Oo-errr - Ed.]. These blasts can be deadly to all, but psykers are particularly vulnerable. In order to do this, the Assassin uses energy stored in the Force Matrix (see above) to power the Animus Speculum and channel his negative aura into a powerful "negative" psychic blast. Each uses D6 Psy Points from the Force Matrix and no more than three such blasts may be made in any one round. If the Assassin wounds a psyker there is a chance the targets link to the Warp may be damaged or even broken. In game terms, both parties make a WP roll, which can be modified by +5 for every Psy Point the party spends (in the Assassins case, from the Force Matrix). If both pass or both fail, the result is a tie. If the Assassin passes and the psyker fails, the psykers special link to the Warp is weakened and he loses D6 points from both his current Psy Point score and his Power Level. A psyker whose Power Level falls to zero has effectively lost all psychic abilities, and can never hold any Psy Points again. Blasts from the Assassin can only be Nullified by the psyker they are aimed at, and count as having the same Psy Level as the psyker. Blasts have a short range of 24 yds, a long range of 48 yds and cause 1D6+5 damage. The very presence of a Culexus Assassin can affect the operation of psychic powers. His negative psychic aura causes the Warp to swirl around him in a vortex, creating a very small, localised Warp storm and making it very dangerous to use their powers. Any psyker, including friendly psykers, within 48 yds of a Culexus Assassin and who attempts to use a psychic power must roll on his WP. If the roll is successful, the power works as normal. If failed, the attempt is immediately nullified and, if he fails a T test, sustains D3 damage. In addition, many psykers actively use their psychic abilities in battle to augment their physical abilities. Merely by moving into proximity, a Culexus Assassin complicates this process with his localised Warp turmoil, and can even if he chooses drain the psyker of his life force. This works to maximum effect when the Culexus Assassin physically touches the target. Both parties make a WP roll, which can be modified by +5 for every Psy Point the party spends (in the Assassins case, from the Force Matrix). If both pass or both fail, the result is a tie. If the Assassin passes and the psyker fails, he can drain 1 or 10 points, as appropriate to the characteristic, from the psykers WS, BS, S, T, Dex, Ld, Int, Cl, WP or Fel. Usually S and/or WP is drained (if WP is drained, the psyker uses the new lower WP to defend himself on the next drain attempt of the Assassin). If any characteristic is reduced to zero, the psyker dies. Drained characteristics are lost for 48 hours, after which they return at a rate of 1/2 or 5 points per day up the previous level of the characteristic level minus 1 or 10. For every yard of distance between the Assassin and the psyker, the Assassin takes a -10 penalty to the WP contest, and the psyker a +10 bonus. Perhaps surprisingly, the powers of a Culexus Assassin affect daemons and other Warp entities equally as well as human psykers, though joint, secret experiments by the Ordo Malleus and Officio Assassinorum are still in progress in this area. Many Culexus Assassins also carry Psych-out Grenades, as used by the daemon-hunters of the Ordo Malleus (see the Inquisition chapter). Each grenade is shaped similarly to a Frag Grenade, but contains a payload only produced by the Golden Throne on Terra. The dust-like substance is heavily impregnated with negative psychic energy and is very rare. When some is collected, armourers use it to make Psych-out Grenades and Psycannon rounds. The grenades cause 1D6+3 Wounds in a 4 yds blast area, with the normal effects of a Frag grenade. In addition, all psychic powers in use in the area are immediately, automatically nullified. M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel 4 73 72 5 5 12 80 4 66 70 66 66 80 20 Weapons: Animus Speculum - range 24/48 yds, to hit +10/-, 3D6 damage Psyk-out grenades - Similar to Frag grenade (see Wargear chapter). Blast range has property that no psychic power (other than the Culexes' "negative" psychic abilities) will work in the zone for D6 turns. Psykers hit in the blast take D6 wounds, against which armour does not protect. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "I commit this message to crystal, as a record for eternity of my last thoughts in this realm. I have seen what will come to pass, and I have seen the face of he who will end my life. A black shadow is even now stalking me across this barren, lifeless world. I have seen him only by his absence. He is a void in the skein of time, a no-thing upon reality. The Rune of Oblivion is his sign: the Rune of Ending is his destiny. My Oblivion, My Ending. "It is a creature of utter abhorrance: of near unspeakable horror to me. Only the Humans could spawn such a creature, so debased are they, so lacking in breeding. Yet even they, as crude and blind as they are, can see this creature, this thing, for what it truly is, though they have no real understanding of its inexistence. I know more about this alien fiend than they do. I know why it is a soulless monstrosity, for I have spoken to the Solitaires who know so well about such things, about the stealing of spirits from bodies that yet live on. It is unnatural, for it is not of the Chaos that binds all things together. It has no life in the Otherworld, it has no existence except in the physical. It is a dead thing that thinks and breathes, a most hideous abomination. Even the Humans who tolerate the stench and squalor of their own kind cannot bear this monster. Ungifted as they are, their latent psychic powers, of which they understand so little, warn them of the danger it poses. Their skin crawls with subconscious loathing. Yet this is but a slight reaction compared to the disgust I feel when I consider its non-existence. "Though they hate this creature that their own kind have spawned, the Humans, so low and despicable as they are, would stoop to welcome it, to make use of its vile properties. Though their own near-sighted seers would gladly see this creature eradicated for all eternity, the double-faced and treacherous humans lie to each other and turn these things upon their foes when eyes are cast elsewhere. They send them to hunt for those with the Sight, those such as myself. "For this creature is an anathema to the Gift of the Mind. Its void blankets the Flame of Life that burns in the Otherworld for all true creatures. It severs us from the stream of Chaos that allows us to change realities, to create dreams and nightmares from the stuff of reality. It is the darkness that blinds; the silence of the grave; the hand around the throat that stifles all breath. It shatters ones visions and befuddles ones mind, sowing confusion and terror wherever it passes. It drains the very spirit from your body, wrenching your essence from the glories of the Otherworld and condemning it to the ashes and dust of mundanity. "They try to control it with their clumsy technlogy, using devices which they barely comprehend, to guard others against the hungering maw which serves as its spirit. To even consider harnessing such unpleasant freaks of creation is to invite disaster. I would laugh at the irony of it, were it not so offensive - the Humans hunt and kill those with the Gift, fearing for their own safety, when their true nemesis, the real creature which will be their doom, is nurtured upon their bosom. How Human that is. "This thing stalks me now and I, I who have seen the birth of stars and the death of galaxies, I am afraid." - Eldar Farseer Lithandros-Esmanthil ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 20.3.5 The Venenum Temple -------------------------- The Venenum Temple is a Temple that, unlike many others of the Officio Assassinorum, does not specialise in combat related killings. The Venenum Temple specialises in poisonings, and its Assassins are masters of the art. They learn to infiltrate, in a lesser way that that of the Callidus Temple, the places where their target is to be found, and at an opportune moment administer a fatal or debilitating poison to the victim. Sometimes it is delivered by food or drink, other times by a poison dart delivered from a blowpipe (which they are trained to use). Often it is not they themselves who deliver the poison, but others whom they bribe or convince to carry out the act, though they always ensure the deed is done cleanly and untracably, whomever does the final deed. Though they do not specialise in combat, like all Assassins they are trained in combat, for at some time every Assassin will sometimes need the ability to fight for his/her life. M WS BS S T W I A Dex Ld Int Cl WP Fel 4 73 72 5 5 12 80 4 66 70 66 66 80 20 20.4 The Ordo Sicarius =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Following the Wars of Vindication, Inquisitor Jaeger created a new order of the Inquisition to monitor the Officio Assassinorum more closely, this was called the Ordo Sicarius. At the Inquisitions request, the Officio Assassinorum agreed to the following changes: * The Assassin temples were distributed to various locations, so that should one fall to alien influence, daemonancy or heresy, the others would remain untainted. * Any Assassination to be allowed only by a two-thirds vote of assent in the Council of High Lords. * All Assassinations to be followed by a detailed account of the mission activity, subject to Inquisitorial inspection at any time. * All Assassins, with exceptions of those of the Eversor temple, to undergo regularly repeated psycho-doctrination, again under the eye of the Inquisition if deemed necessary. A major problem, however, was that the Officio Assassinorum was and is a highly secretive organisation. To monitor such an organisation effectively one must work from within its confines, not from the outside. Therefore, inducted into the Officio Assassinorum in various temples are some agents of the Inquisition, Assassin-Inquisitors, from whom the information the Ordo Sicarius needs to work is gained. This is done during the regular psycho-doctrination sessions with these Assassins, with whom the Inquisition from time to time makes a point of being present at. The Ordo Sicarius has, to date, successfully uncovered and prevented two assassination attempts on the High Lords themselves and prevented the assassination of an Inquisitor who had been working closely with the Orks of Lamina sector.