From Lexicanum

The Officio Assassinorum (Office of Assassins) is the Imperial organisation responsible for the recruitment, training, and deployment of elite assassins. The Officio's head, the Grand Master of Assassins, due to the power of his organization and by tradition, is always a member of the Senate of the High Lords of Terra and, in theory at least, the agreement of the Senate is required for the deployments of assassins. Targets are key figures, such as rebellious Imperial governors, heretic prophets, powerful demagogues, successful alien leaders, etc. The Officio consists of different types of temples; each temple is unique and specializes in its own methods of killing. The heads of individual temples are called directors.

Assassins are recruited at a very young age, from the orphans of Imperial servants raised in the Schola Progenium², and from the populations of feral worlds. They then undergo ten years of intensive training at the School of Assassins on Terra. From then onwards they live and operate from one of the Assassin temples said to be located somewhere on Terra. They are harshly tested and trained, their senses and resolve heightened with implants. Even after the initial training, the life of an agent of the Officio remains hard and unforgiving.³

The temples use many exotic types of equipment, such as synskin, a substance that once sprayed onto the body, forms a black outer skin which protects the wearer from the environment and enhances strength.

During the Age of Apostasy, the Officio itself became afflicted by the general corruption of the Imperium, and certain high-ranking members of the Office had utilized the assassins for Goge Vandire's own ends. In Vandire's purges, powerful individuals and even the Officio's Grand Master became victims of the assassins. The war within the Officio became known as the Wars of Vindication. Following the Apostasy, it was deemed wise to reorganize the Office, one change being that only the Senate could order an assassination. A section of the Inquisition, the Ordo Sicarius, was created to monitor and control the Officio Assassinorum from that date on.

The motto of the Officio Assassinorum is: For those that defy the Imperium, only the Emperor can judge your crimes. Only in death can you receive the Emperor's judgement.

The known temples are:

• Vindicare Temple - sharpshooters, specialists in sniping and marksmanship
• Callidus Temple - chameleons, specialists in infiltration and impersonation
• Eversor Temple - berserkers, drug-fueled killing machines
• Culexus Temple - pariahs, psykers are their exclusive targets
• Venenum Temple - specialists in poisoning their targets
• Vanus Temple - unknown

The temples, with the exception of the Culexus Temple, are located on Terra but their specific locations are a closely guarded secret. They may be deployed to a battlefield to covertly 'help' an Imperial force, including Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, and the Imperial Guard, but never join any squad, as they work best alone.

Sources

• ¹: Deathwing (Novel), The Alien Beast Within
• ²: Codex Imperialis, 2nd edition WH40K
• ³: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
• Codex Assassins (2nd Edition)
• Codex: Assassins (3rd Edition)

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