Having a debate about whether a Callidus Assassin could become an Inquisitor? Would the training they have and usefulness of her abilities make it a waste? Would the Officio Assassinorum allow it? Would the actual assassin herself want it?
All thoughts welcome.
~ alemander
I dont know the RPG standing but from the general 40k fluff I would imagine the Callidus conditioning would conflict with the Inquisitorial conditioning, they are both pretty heavy on brainwashing if I remember
There was a really strange relationship between Inquisitor Draco and his Callidus Assassin ally in the Inquisition war books, I got the implication it was frowned upon (great book trilogy but weak ending sadly, worth reading though)
Not sure if that helps or hinders
Yeah, the fluff aspect is what we are debating (not worried about anything rules-wise).
I was thinking that a Callidus Assassin who served in a retinue as a throne agent (like the one from the DW intro adventures) would eventually come to want to be an Inquisitor, but what you say on the conditioning would be an issue, true.
~ alemander
I think it's the Assassinorum conditioning that would decide this. It preaches absolute loyalty. The Inquisition is absolutely capable of breaking that conditioning, but many of the abilities that an Assassin has depend on the fact that they have an absolute loyalty. To break that training and re-indoctrinate to a similar level could take a lot of time; time, by which, the assassin may have passed the peak of his/her physical potential. Whilst still a useful Inquisitorial agent, assuming the Assassin has picked up the necessary skills, they won't be as useful as an Assassin OR an Inquisitor as, perhaps, the notion assumes.
The assassin may want it, it all comes down to the individual of course.
I think it would be unlikely but not necessarily impossible. The skills themselves would be absolutely useful as an inquisitor, what inquisitor would not want to be able to assume the form of one of his enemies to infiltrate and destroy a cell of cultists from within. Instead of being a simple assassin she could use her abilities to gather information on the goals, strengths, locations of the cult to wreak righteous havoc.
It might be a good way to locate allies of the group as well so these can be hunted down and destroyed once she has finished with her current target as well as finding and *fixing* leaks within Imperial organisations.
Depends on the Individuals, but few 'true' Officio Assassinorium operatives can be said to 'want' anything - they're usually portrayed as pretty much devoid of ambition beyond achieving their mission as defined by their handlers.
Would they be capable? Certainly no less than any other; the demands of the Assassinorium are 'a professorial knowledge of the Imperium's technology, cultures and languages' quite apart from mad stabbing skillz, and as arch-manipulators, Callidus must logically be gifted at reading and understanding 'normal' people - normally a weakness of the Imperium's assorted sub-species of superhumans.
Would it be allowed? I dunno. The problem is that, as noted, Assassinorium conditioning is absolute. even if breakable, you can't really trust that there isn't some buried controls you've never found. Certainly the Ordo Sicarius - whose responsibility is oversight of the Assassinorium in the wake of the Beheading would never trust such an individual with an Inquisitorial seal. Other ordos may be more openminded, but since the long-term assignment of assassins in the first place requires the support of the Sicarius (unless you want to go over their heads to the High Lords directly*)...
Long-term assignment of Callidus to an Inquisitor, on the other hand, seems fairly common. It makes sense that they're the assassin most often put on detached duty - they're by far the most useful in non-combat situations. We've seen three that I'm aware of:
* Something which in no way could produce ill-feeling and grudges. Honest.
Yeah, the fluff aspect is what we are debating (not worried about anything rules-wise).
I was thinking that a Callidus Assassin who served in a retinue as a throne agent (like the one from the DW intro adventures) would eventually come to want to be an Inquisitor, but what you say on the conditioning would be an issue, true.
~ alemander
I think the idea of a Callidus serving as a Throne Agent, as in sanctioned to an Inquisitor, for their use, is sort of terrifying. When Ascension did it with the Vindicare, I thought it then, too, but they were doing weird stuff, then. There can't be that many Assassins, of any Temple, to have one just lounging about, working alongside an Inquisitor, especially when most uses of the Assassins require the High Lords, themselves, to sanction it. I know a novel, or two, are making me patently wrong, as at least two Callidus Assassins have done this, while sleeping with one of the main characters, but if they aren't there basically to assassinate someone (one of those did, if I recall), job failed. A single Inquisitor, getting access of this degree to such an asset seems weird, and I don't think a Callidus will have the strong sense of self an Inquisitor needs, to bolster themselves against the nightmares they'll see; I tend to imagine that the Callidus, like other AOp's, make it a distance from their final objective (if it isn't Mont'ka, and all but one FAIL! rather badly), and then get picked up by whatever shadowy system, with warpships, gets them around, and back to Holy Terra. Once "home", they get re-hypno-indoctrinated, and selectively mind-wiped, so that they don't build up any "foreign sympathies or ideas", after having to infiltrate some weird crap for however long; they aren't proof against the corrupting influences, but instead have that excised, between missions. Certainly, I don't know, but it seems plausible, as they are the most exposed to what makes the enemies of Mankind different. Deadpool, the Kool-Aid Killer (Eversor) is such a dervish of wanton destruction, and so drugged up to his eyeballs, that he's not likely to remember anything, the Vindicare is so far away from those sources, I almost expect him to mail a post card that says "BANG!!!", which kills the target, somehow, and the Culexus is so...well...wrong to most people, that let's face it, s/he is fine. It's the Callidus that has to infiltrate, and find all the other, smaller heads, the real power of a movement, behind the throne, and such; not the same quick-and-precise jobs most Assassins partake of. My silly opinion, at least.
I'd think that, coupling the sheer rarity/value any successful AOp has, to their own organization(s), with their own version of mind control/indoctrination, would render them incapable of becoming an Inquisitor, and I'd think the other Inquisitors, who must sanction your appointment, would feel the same, but your game, please do what you want?
The inquisition would probably wonder if the new candidate is more loyal to the Inquisition or the Assassinorum. I guess in a special case this mistrust could be overcome, but it is certainly an issue.
Sry to go off in a slightly weird tangent, but I was wondering if anyone could name some of the 40K novels that these Assassins feature in? I could live with a story that maybe "storied" a Culexus, but I'm looking for a book that features a Callidus. I seem to remember her sleeping with one of the supporting main characters, getting him a bad rep for womanizing, since she changed her face sort of often (despite limited does of polymorphine?
), and, I think, even getting him a promotion, or something, for LIVING through being around her that long. Can't find anything on the Internet, though. Thanks!
Sry to go off in a slightly weird tangent, but I was wondering if anyone could name some of the 40K novels that these Assassins feature in? I could live with a story that maybe "storied" a Culexus, but I'm looking for a book that features a Callidus. I seem to remember her sleeping with one of the supporting main characters, getting him a bad rep for womanizing, since she changed her face sort of often (despite limited does of polymorphine?
Edited by Drubbels
- Anna - attached to Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Drake (Macharius trilogy). No longer thinks in terms of having a 'natural' shape. Gets into a moderately serious romantic relationship with one of the protagonists, giving him a (rather undeserved) reputation as a shameless womanizer and flirt as the rest of the command aren't aware of her nature and rarely see him with the 'same woman' twice in a row.
The original Grand Master of assassins was ( spoilers) Malcador the Sigilite ( dan dan daaaaaan!!!)
So yeah, a Callidus could definatly do it. Now the inquisition might object, but then again there is no "one inquistion" as they are usually bickering amongst themselves anyway.
Another question: What makes you think this is not already the case? Maybe some Inquisitors are assassins.
I was gonna say there could be no eversor assassin/inquisitors for obvious reasons, but looking at how some monodominants go about their buisness ("BURN THE WITCH! KILL EVERYTHING AND LET THE EMPEROR KNOW HIS OWN!") I'm not so sure anymore.
Edited by Robin GravesLong-term assignment of Callidus to an Inquisitor, on the other hand, seems fairly common. It makes sense that they're the assassin most often put on detached duty - they're by far the most useful in non-combat situations. We've seen three that I'm aware of:
I wouldn't say "common", considering that by Imperial Decree, every single assassination must be ratified by a 2/3 majority vote of the High Lords on Terra. Yes, the Inquisition can get around this, but even just ordering a single kill already constitutes a notable exception to standard procedure. As such, a permanent assignment and the accompanying kills sounds like something that only a senior Inquisitor Lord should really get away with.
Lesser Inquisitors can try anyways, but personally I'd see "hijacking" an Officio Assassinorum operative similar to requisitioning a Titan Legion, a Chapter of Space Marines or a Navy flotilla: it's okay if you do it for a specific mission, but if you want to keep them, you better have a very good reason and a lot of political clout in order to deal with criticism from your peers. Other Inquisitors will not take kindly upon such conceited habits by some rookie who thinks he owns half the Imperium now that he's got his rosette.
The examples in the novels I would attribute either to rare exceptions (a lot of crazy stuff can happen over the course of several millennia), or to the authors simply playing a little fast and loose with the setting. Let's not even talk about how the majority of instances a Callidus shows up in the novels, she's sleeping with the Inquisitor, giving you an idea of just why the authors may have decided on this gender and Temple rather than the alternatives, or why they felt they had to add an Assassin to their story in the first place.
If I remember correctly, Ian Watson's books in particular featured a couple other things that might raise eyebrows today. As much as I'd still recommend them, because frankly they were still a fun read!
The original Grand Master of assassins was ( spoilers) Malcador the Sigilite ( dan dan daaaaaan!!!)
Going by
codex
fluff, the original Grand Masters were six people called <drumroll> Callidus, Venenum, Culexus, Vindicare, Eversor and Vanus, who revealed themselves to the Emperor after already having supported his Great Crusade independently for some time.
All in all, I gotta say I'm with Magnus and venkelus on this one. The Assassins seem too rare a resource, and too focused on doing their job in their way. Many of them are quite clever in how to achieve their objective, but I think that still doesn't compare to the level of independence an Inquisitor is used to and employs. An Assassin lives for their Temple first and foremost (if their Grand Master orders it, they would kill an Inquisitor just like they'd kill a High Lord), and the Temple is going to expect their loaned operative to be returned to them.
But this is just as far as my understanding based on GW's original writing goes -- there can certainly be different interpretations of the setting (such as some of the novels suggest), and in the end, all that matters is that only the players sharing one campaign setting have a common ground and agree on such details.
Edited by LynataSupposing that the operative spent a sufficiently long period of time infiltrating a heretical organization.
Supposing that during this time the organization came to the attention of an Inquisitor who then set about to destroy it.
Supposing that this time period is of sufficient length that the assassin is "past" his or her physical prime and perhaps so far gone beyond their normal mental programming.
Supposing that they somehow revealed themselves to this Inquisitor during their investigation (and destruction) of the same heretical organization and the Inquisitor did not destroy them on purpose or by accident.
Supposing that the original records of the assassin's mission were somehow lost or destroyed due to random acts of the warp (and the Lords of Terra who ordered the mission since deceased).
Supposing that the Inquisitor determines to "bring in" the assassin and in the course of returning the assassin to their temple (due to the pernicious nature of the warp), it takes sufficiently long and the Inquisitor and the assassin get involved in many varied adventures en route that build trust between the two of them and proves the mettle and potential for the assassin to become an Inquisitor.
Supposing then that due to age and mental state that the assassin's temple deems the assassin not worth the effort to deprogram and reprogram (and perhaps beyond the general accepted age for an assassin in the field) and sufficient political pressure brought to bear by the Inquisitor and his or her allies, so that the assassin is not "retired" or made a temple instructor...
It might be possible for a Callidus assassin to become an Inquisitor.
Long-term assignment of Callidus to an Inquisitor, on the other hand, seems fairly common. It makes sense that they're the assassin most often put on detached duty - they're by far the most useful in non-combat situations. We've seen three that I'm aware of:
I wouldn't say "common", considering that by Imperial Decree, every single assassination must be ratified by a 2/3 majority vote of the High Lords on Terra. Yes, the Inquisition can get around this, but even just ordering a single kill already constitutes a notable exception to standard procedure. As such, a permanent assignment and the accompanying kills sounds like something that only a senior Inquisitor Lord should really get away with.
Lesser Inquisitors can try anyways, but personally I'd see "hijacking" an Officio Assassinorum operative similar to requisitioning a Titan Legion, a Chapter of Space Marines or a Navy flotilla: it's okay if you do it for a specific mission, but if you want to keep them, you better have a very good reason and a lot of political clout in order to deal with criticism from your peers. Other Inquisitors will not take kindly upon such conceited habits by some rookie who thinks he owns half the Imperium now that he's got his rosette.
The examples in the novels I would attribute either to rare exceptions (a lot of crazy stuff can happen over the course of several millennia), or to the authors simply playing a little fast and loose with the setting. Let's not even talk about how the majority of instances a Callidus shows up in the novels, she's sleeping with the Inquisitor, giving you an idea of just why the authors may have decided on this gender and Temple rather than the alternatives, or why they felt they had to add an Assassin to their story in the first place.
If I remember correctly, Ian Watson's books in particular featured a couple other things that might raise eyebrows today. As much as I'd still recommend them, because frankly they were still a fun read!
The original Grand Master of assassins was ( spoilers) Malcador the Sigilite ( dan dan daaaaaan!!!)
Going by codex fluff, the original Grand Masters were six people called <drumroll> Callidus, Venenum, Culexus, Vindicare, Eversor and Vanus, who revealed themselves to the Emperor after already having supported his Great Crusade independently for some time.
All in all, I gotta say I'm with Magnus and venkelus on this one. The Assassins seem too rare a resource, and too focused on doing their job in their way. Many of them are quite clever in how to achieve their objective, but I think that still doesn't compare to the level of independence an Inquisitor is used to and employs. An Assassin lives for their Temple first and foremost (if their Grand Master orders it, they would kill an Inquisitor just like they'd kill a High Lord), and the Temple is going to expect their loaned operative to be returned to them.
But this is just as far as my understanding based on GW's original writing goes -- there can certainly be different interpretations of the setting (such as some of the novels suggest), and in the end, all that matters is that only the players sharing one campaign setting have a common ground and agree on such details.
'K my bad, thats actually still the case, we actually meet them at the start of "Nemesis" it's just that Malcador is one of them. I guess he's the one who gives them their missions and they fight amongst themselves wich clade is gonna do it.
I also liked Eversor's (as in the man himself) plan to kill Horus: Send every single eversor assassin at the warmaster at the same time! Man that would have been awesome! (lots of bio explosions I would think) It would have been better than the plan they came up with in the novel.
'K my bad, thats actually still the case, we actually meet them at the start of "Nemesis" it's just that Malcador is one of them. I guess he's the one who gives them their missions and they fight amongst themselves wich clade is gonna do it.
Hey now, you're not really "wrong"! From what it sounds like, this is just one of the cases where the novels do things a little bit differently. I just wanted to point out the original source.
From how it sounds like in the 6E rulebook, Malcador was some sort of "Chief of Staff" for the Emperor, so I guess it'd make sense that he'd give missions to assassins too, though I wouldn't see him accompanying them.
I would put myself in the camp of "Temple assassins too rare for permanent assignment" . As Lynata pointed out earlier in the thread, that seems more like something for a Death cult assassin. A temple assassin IMO, is a way for an Inquisitor to "Solve" a high level "Problem". Basically, the Inquisitor (Who has to be a full Inquisitor not just some Acolyte) recommends a target to the High lords or requests the asset pending target assignment. This request is fast tracked by direct channels to the high lords. they will vote on the requested "Sanction". If they agree, the Assassin is deployed for the Inquisitors direction. Once the mission is complete though, the Assassin would return to their temple for appropriate "debrief." If the Inquisitor wanted to use a temple Assassin again, than the process would have to be restarted. It is highly unlikely that the same assassin would be deployed though since, as pointed out earlier, the Assassin likely does not even remember they've met AND the relevant temple would not want their asset to develop an attachment to a particular client! After all; Rogue Inquisitors are definitely one of the threats the Officio may have to deal with later!
Ah! To clarify, I wouldn't say that an Inquisitor needs to petition the High Lords -- the Inquisition exists alongside the Senatorum Imperialis and is the only organisation truly out of the High Lords' reach (at least insofar as the law is concerned). Certainly, GW's material demands an Assassin's deployment to be ratified by a majority vote from the Senate, but those are normal rules, and Inquisitor's aren't normal people. They exist outside the normal hierarchy; they wave their rosette and stuff gets done.
However, I maintain that the normal rules about the 2/3 majority vote are a very good indication about the role the Temple Assassins have in the Imperium, in that they are regarded as important and dangerous enough to warrant special regulations and even a dedicated Inquisitorial Ordo watching over them to prevent mis-use:
"One of the Ordos Minoris, the Ordo Sicarius is responsible for investigating and controlling the Officio Assasinorum. By ancient decree, no Imperial Assassin may be deployed without the consent of the High Lords of Terra. This is, of course, immensely impractical and quite often an Inquisitor of the Ordo Sicarius will sanction the Officio Assassinorum under the guise of an edict from Terra. While some believe this to be an abuse of their power, in a galaxy-spanning civilisation, such measures are essential to maintain a level of response required by threats to Mankind."
-- Thorian Sourcebook
Of course, even though every single Inquisitor has (in theory) the same authority as another, in practice their focus and web of contacts will establish unwritten rules in regards to who gets to have a say about what.
And .. well, let's just say some random Inquisitor dragging along an Assassin
just because they can
is something that will probably qualify as mis-use in the eyes of these other Inquisitors who get to spy over the Officio Assassinorum's e-mail inbox to either rubber-stamp a request from their colleagues or not.
Lynata, you are always a wonderful source of arcane knowledge!
I honestly didn't know about that one but it makes sense! Given that, I would also clarify that an Inquisitors request would therefore go through the Ordo Sicarius and be sanctioned from there.
It also follows that the vast majority of requests for such sanction probably originate from Inquisitors anyway!
I Still maintain though that such a sanction would only be good for a designated target after which the Assassin would return to their temple. (Making said Assassin firmly a 'reinforcement character'). Assassins that are part of the Inquisitors retinue are called Acolytes and they are a normal choice for player characters. Besides, with the right gear and skill choices, a PC Assassin will not be too far removed from their cousins in the Officio! In the original Ascension book in DH1, it was even suggested that it was from these various death cults that the temples recruit anyway! Although I'd hate to see what kind of character would get the attention of the Eversore temple!
Deadpool! When I happen past 1d4chan, every time I see an Eversor, I get this weird image of the Kool-Aid Man, but his face is the current Deadpool meme image, and I chuckle. Hopefully, even as a loud, crazy, drugged up murder machine, the Eversor is more serious than 1d4chan, and certainly their portrayal of him, but it is usually good for a laugh, if I require one. It makes me imagine that an Eversor might steal a Thunderhawk, or a Valkyrie, just to cover ground more quickly, or get over a base wall, and then crash it, to take out some perimeter guards, and cover his dynamic entrance, or do like a squad of Astartes, and get drop-podded in from orbit, only to reveal that it was just one man, NOT a squad of ten 7' super-soldiers, in power armor, and yet you are actually worse off.
I accept that Ascension basically said "right now, we have the 3rd ed Daemonhunters codex, so we must include everything in it, in this book. Every type of Inquisitorial henchman snuck in, or something the next step up from whatever else you were playing (congrats, you haven't been attached to a single place in years, but now, you're a Judge), and even full-on Inquisitor became an option, but the Vindicare never really fit with me. He's cheese, and I like that, but sort of like the Jedi wanting to get indoctrinating you, before you get exposed to too much other stuff, that then they have to pull out, or work around, or what have you, I don't think ANYONE, I don't really care who you are, is likely to get picked up, flown back to Holy Terra (bye Calixis campaign), and transformed into an Eversor Assassin, or a Vindicare, either (good thing Culexus has a little extra requirement. Either you were picked up, as a child, and
beaten
shaped into an Assassin Operative, such as a Callidus, a Vindicare, or an Eversor, or you do something else with your life; my opinion, of course. Also makes me wonder, with Untouchables being so ungodly rare, how ANY Inquisitor has one in his retinue, when they should seem to all get swept up into the Culexus Temple, and either make it, or die trying. The closest I've ever liked, and only because it's mine, are TWO characters who form a team, of sorts. each was on the track to being an Assassin, and each "washed out", but an Inquisitor used his authority, somehow, to get them swept up, into his control, before they could be liquidated; both Alicia and Draco were great assassins, but both had some problems with the psychological conditioning. Alicia does keep the Vindicare gear, but rarely wears the full suit, unless planning to slink off, and only the rifle (carries a bolt pistol), while Draco looks like your typical trench coat-wearing guy, and the only part of his special gear he has is the limiter portion of his Culexus helm, so that he doesn't make people ill, unless he wants to, and he uses a plasma pistol; basically, he's an over-trained Blank. And even these are silly, I grant.
In the original Ascension book in DH1, it was even suggested that it was from these various death cults that the temples recruit anyway!
It seems that the majority of recruits come from the Schola Progenium, but there are always exceptions (the Thorian Sourcebook talks about Asaid Virenus, who was submitted to the Callidus Temple at age 12 by an Inquisitor after discovering the kid had killed a Hive Governor's niece and assumed her place after working/killing her way up in society), and Death Cults should indeed make a good recruiting ground.
I assume the Schola would remain the default option just because the Imperium has complete oversight there, whereas many Death Cults will try to keep their best teens for themselves. The most likely option would be an Inquisitor who picks up a Death Cultist for their retinue, and then sends them off to study a bit with one of the Assassinorum Temples to develop their abilities further:
I don't think ANYONE, I don't really care who you are, is likely to get picked up, flown back to Holy Terra (bye Calixis campaign), and transformed into an Eversor Assassin, or a Vindicare, either (good thing Culexus has a little extra requirement.
Well, if the Inquisitor can arrange transportation and secure them a spot in the Temple ...
I think the main problem here would be that it takes yeeeeears to go through Temple training, and whilst some downtime in-between assignments should be normal in a Dark Heresy campaign, most groups are probably limiting it to weeks or months. Codex fluff actually does mention that sometimes, Inquisitors manage to send one of their skilled agents to Assassin School -- but in my opinion, it'd still be a mistake to just call them a Callidus, or a Vindicare, just because they've learned some of the associated skills or even have comparable gear. After all, those names are connected not only to an operative's abilities, but also their place in the Imperium.
In the original Ascension book in DH1, it was even suggested that it was from these various death cults that the temples recruit anyway!
It seems that the majority of recruits come from the Schola Progenium, but there are always exceptions (the Thorian Sourcebook talks about Asaid Virenus, who was submitted to the Callidus Temple at age 12 by an Inquisitor after discovering the kid had killed a Hive Governor's niece and assumed her place after working/killing her way up in society), and Death Cults should indeed make a good recruiting ground.
I assume the Schola would remain the default option just because the Imperium has complete oversight there, whereas many Death Cults will try to keep their best teens for themselves. The most likely option would be an Inquisitor who picks up a Death Cultist for their retinue, and then sends them off to study a bit with one of the Assassinorum Temples to develop their abilities further:
"Some Inquisitors may organise Officio Assassinorum training for a Death Cultist, turning an already highly efficient killer into a deadly and honed executioner."-- d100 Inquisitor, Characters: Assassins
I don't think ANYONE, I don't really care who you are, is likely to get picked up, flown back to Holy Terra (bye Calixis campaign), and transformed into an Eversor Assassin, or a Vindicare, either (good thing Culexus has a little extra requirement.
Well, if the Inquisitor can arrange transportation and secure them a spot in the Temple ...
I think the main problem here would be that it takes yeeeeears to go through Temple training, and whilst some downtime in-between assignments should be normal in a Dark Heresy campaign, most groups are probably limiting it to weeks or months. Codex fluff actually does mention that sometimes, Inquisitors manage to send one of their skilled agents to Assassin School -- but in my opinion, it'd still be a mistake to just call them a Callidus, or a Vindicare, just because they've learned some of the associated skills or even have comparable gear. After all, those names are connected not only to an operative's abilities, but also their place in the Imperium.
You beat me to it Lynata!
Besides which; recruiting solely from children in the Scholas would be vastly inefficient. You miss a lot of good talent by ignoring a pool of skilled candidates. Remember that given their rarity, the demand for a Temple assassins services will always vastly outweigh their supply! Also, given the ability to selectively mindwipe an individuals memories, the Jedi issue you mentioned is really not relevant! I would assume that any of the temples have "support staff" including Psykers, guards and various other non-assassin personnel who assist in the maintenance of of the Officio's administrative functions. (Come to think of it, I have a hard time seeing an eversore filing "post mission battle analysis" reports!
)
It also occurs to me that this is exactly how the Eversore temple probably recruits: Imagine a high level Assassin (Say 12000 xp.) who also is nearing the top of the Insanity/corruption track (high 90's for insanity; considerably lower for corruption). If said Assassin has a powerful patron like an Inquisitor, he realises that this is an individual with literally years of honed reflexes and lethal ability! Said patron realises that his choices are to put the individual down (And thereby sacrifice a powerful asset!), or find some way to extend their usefulness. They contact the Eversore temple who determine that they can indeed use said individual. Said individual is picked up, bottled, pickled and ready for their next deployment with no memory of their previous life!
This also illustrates my opinion of what happens when an Acolyte is taken in fully by one of the temples. No matter which temple it is, between mental conditioning/mindwipes and intense indoctrination, they are NO LONGER an acolyte of said inquisitor. They are now a Temple Assassin! They might not even remember their association with them! (Although, given their nature, a Callidus or a Vindicare might.) The reason for this is actually sadly pragmatic; If said Inquisitor later turns into Gregor Eisenhorne or worse, they may very well be tasked with "dealing" with them! Any emotional attachment to their previous lives is something the temple would seek to eradicate.
The way I see it is that an inquisitor can put up some person (say the death cultist) for training in the assassinorum temples. thats It. he can't just go back later and get "his" assassin back. Once you donate them to the temples, they are gone.
Inquisitor: "Hi, yes, my name is inquisitor Mormont, and I've come to collect Mrs Rakesh."
Officion assasinorum representative: "Ah Inquisitor Mormont, yes I remember you. Mrs. who?"
Mormont: "look she was an associate of mine. Death cult member. I sent her to be trained here, about 8 years ago."
Rep: "We have no operative of that name here."
Mormont: "But-"
Rep: "None of our operatives retain their names anyway."
Mormont: "Now look here, I want my assassin!"
Rep: " All operatives belong to the clade. We can't have privately owned officio assassins running around can we?"
Mormont: "I'm a bloody inquisitor I am! I own an entire space marine chapter and dozens of guard regiments!"
Rep: "yes. But no assassins. The oficcio assasinorum operates under direct mandate of the high lords of Terra-"
Mormont: "Yes! I know that!"
Rep: " ...in council, wichs needs to ratify the discisions by a 2/3d majority. That being the case the assassin will be-"
Mormont: "Shut up! I know all that legal stuff! Look, I gave you one of my accolytes, I want my investment back!"
Rep: "The clade is not a bank, sir. All deposits of new recruits are considered to be donations."
Mormont: "BUT-"
Rep: "Thank you. Come again."
Anyway that's the way i think how it goes.
That's when you produce your Ordo Sicarius-forged documents.
Still pretty sure it sais in the Sicarius rules that you can't have your own assassin.
The officio seems to me the very last imperial organisation you can bully by waving your rosette around.
I don't think the Inquisition is an organization that generally has to resort to bullying. I think it's one of those organizations that most folks recognize that it is much easier to simply go along with rather than antagonize - it would be a shame if your antagonism were to be found to be due to heresy, for instance.
And most of the folks who do antagonize the Inquisition tend to be so antagonistic that they don't even pretend to get along with them. Unlike the Grey Knights, Adepta Sororitas, Deathwatch, the Officio Assassinorum, and others.
Threatening an Assassinorum temple on Holy Terra or even within the Sol System would be foolhardy, but those located further out, on the frontiers of the Imperium, might have no recourse if they are threatened with Exterminatus by an irate Inquisitor (although said Inquisitor would naturally have to explain themselves to the Ordo Sicarius and might totally burn their bridges with both the Officio and the Ordo Sicarius and may even suffer being sanctioned by the Ordo Malleus and losing significant support from otherwise friendly Adeptus Astartes and the Imperial Navy - still, temple officials might decide that it's better to surrender a single assassin for a long-term mission than suffer the loss of their entire temple).