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|quote = '''''"For those that defy the Imperium, only the Emperor can judge your crimes.<br>Only in death can you receive the Emperor's judgement."'''<br>''|source = - Motto of the Officio Assassinorum'''''{{Fn|1818a}}
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Despite their hard and often short lives, Assassins can rise in the organisation by successfully completing missions. Upon achieving '''Sicarius Primus''', they gain the right of refusal to any sector-level mission and even take assignments intended for other Temples. This is the stepping stone for advancement to the central Temple on Terra, where they can become high-ranking masters of the organisation.{{Fn|27a}} Indeed, the Grand Master himself is a skilled assassin who has advanced to the Officio's highest position.{{Fn|28}}
The temples, with the exception of the Culexus Temple, are located on Terra but their specific locations are a closely guarded secret. Each Temple also operates sub-temples on the [[Segmentum]] and then [[Sector]] level. These are in turn coordinated by the [[Temple of Assassins]] on Terra, which is home to the [[Grand Masterof Assassins]] of Assassins and the central command of the organisation. The Central Temple on Terra maintains several sub-departments to oversee Officio activities, such as the '''Office of Missions''' and '''Office of Operations'''. The heads of these departments answer in turn to the Grand Master himself.{{Fn|27a}} There are also '''Master Adepts''', who can organize and sometimes even lead assassination operations.{{Fn|32}}
The Officio is also home to many non-assassin employees as for every assassin that is deployed, thousands of clerks and bureaucrats oversee the logistical work of the agency. These officials determine where the operatives should go, who they should kill, and how their equipment is produced and maintained.{{Fn|27a}} The ranks of the Officio Assassinorum also include ancillary staff, including intelligence operatives who are deployed across the Imperium to conduct reconnaissance and analysis,{{Fn|2727b}} along with [[Astropath]]s, [[Navigator]]s, and other such servants. Though these individuals are not Assassins themselves, they live entirely within the organisation and have no contact with the outside world.{{Fn|2}}
Assassins may be deployed to a battlefield to covertly 'help' an Imperial force, including [[Space Marine]]s, [[Sisters of Battle]], and the [[Imperial Guard]], but rarely join any squad, as they work best alone. When Temples do decide to work together on a single mission, it is in an [[Execution Force]].{{Fn|27a}}
[[File:Officio Assassinorum symbol 2.png|thumb|220px|Seal of the Officio Assassinorum{{Fn|25}}]]
*[[Adamus Temple]] - The oldest of the formal Assassin orders, specializing in the decapitation strike.{{Fn|29}}
*[[Callidus Temple]] - chameleons, specialists in infiltration and impersonation.{{Fn|18a18b}}*[[Culexus Temple]] - [[pariah]]s, [[psyker]]s are their exclusive targets.{{Fn|18a18b}}*[[Eversor Temple]] - berserkers, drug-fuelled killing machines.{{Fn|18a18b}}
*[[Vanus Temple]] - intelligence-gatherers, in matters of strategy and tactics their insight is unparalleled. They often assassinate their targets indirectly using their intelligence and knowledge to bring down targets.{{Fn|3}}
*[[Venenum Temple]] - specialists in poisoning their targets.{{Fn|3}}
*[[Vindicare Temple]] - sharpshooters, specialists in sniping and marksmanship.{{Fn|18a18b}}
Over the millennia, there have been numerous temples.{{Fn|31}} An additional temple, the [[Maerorus Temple]], attempted to create an assassin using illegal human/mutant/xenos hybrids capable of absorbing the biomass of victims to rapidly evolve new bio-weapons. The temple is now extinct.{{Fn|9}}
**{{Endn|5c}}: pg. 13
*{{Endn|6}}: [[Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition Rulebook]], pg. 124
*7: [[The Fall of Medusa V]]:
**{{Endn|7a}}: pg. 12
**{{Endn|7b}}: pg. 24
*{{Endn|8}}: [[Deus ex Mechanicus (Short Story)]]
*{{Endn|9}}: [[Seventh Retribution (Novel)]], ''K-Day +15 Days''*{{Endn|10}}: [[Wolfblade (Novel)]] by [[William King]] - [[Space Wolf: The Second Omnibus]], Chapter Twenty-Two, pgs. 214-215*11: [[Dataslate: Officio Assassinorum]]:
**{{Endn|11a}}: ''The Chains That Bind''
**{{Endn|11b}}: ''Officio Assassinorum''
*{{Endn|15}}: [[Assassinorum: Execution Force (Novel)]],{{Cite this}}
**{{Endn|15a}}: Cover
*{{Endn|16}}: [[Assassinorum: Execution Force (Game)]] , pg.23
*{{Endn|17}}: [[Codex: Inquisition (6th Edition)]], ''Ordo Sicarius''
*{{Endn|18}}: [[Codex: Assassins (2nd Edition)]], pg:**{{Endn|18a}}: pgs. 2-5**{{Endn|18a18b}}: pgpgs.10-20
*{{Endn|19}}: [[Codex: Chaos Space Marines (8th Edition)]], pg. 28
*{{Endn|20}}: [[Imperium Nihilus: Vigilus Ablaze]], pg. 106 - ''The Wheels of Justice Turn Slowly''
*{{Endn|21}}: [[Spear of the Emperor (Novel)]], Chapter 23
*{{Endn|22}}: [[White Dwarf July 2019]] - ''Indomitus Crusade Fleets''
*{{Endn|23}}: [[ The Horus Heresy Book Seven- Inferno]], pgs. 116–119
*{{Endn|24}}: [[Watchers of the Throne: The Regent's Shadow (Novel)]], Chapter 28
*{{Endn|25}}: [[Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (2nd Edition)]], ppg.63 *{{Endn|26}}: [[White Dwarf 118 (UK)]] , pg.60*{{Endn|27}}: [[Assassinorum: Kingmaker (Novel)]], Chapter 4:
**{{Endn|27a}}: Chapter 2
**{{Endn|27b}}: Chapter 4*{{Endn|28}}: [[The Beheading (Novel)]] - , Chapter 9
*{{Endn|29}}: [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2022/09/29/heresy-thursday-decapitate-your-enemies-with-the-clade-adamus-assassin/ Warhammer Community: Heresy Thursday – Decapitate Your Enemies With the Clade Adamus Assassin (Posted on 29/09/2022)] (Last accessed on 29 September 2022)
*{{Endn|30}}: [[Dark Millennium (game system)]]: '''Hope's Twilight''' — [https://web.archive.org/web/20240504112735/https://www.ccgtrader.net/card/112070/xx-00-operative XX-00 Operative] (archived 04 May 2024, last accessed 04 May 2024)
*{{Endn|31}}: [[Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide]], pg. 133
*{{Endn|32}}: [https://web.archive.org/web/20250923192338/https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/mkh26zdt/meet-the-lords-of-war-venturing-to-the-warhammer-40000-grand-narrative-this-week/ Warhammer Community: Meet the Lords of War venturing to the Warhammer 40,000 Grand Narrative this week] saved page original link: ''(archived from [https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/mkh26zdt/meet-the-lords-of-war-venturing-to-the-warhammer-40000-grand-narrative-this-week/ (the original], last accessed 23/9/September 2025)''
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