Vindicare Temple

The Vindicare Temple is one of the temples of the Officio Assassinorum. The motto of the temple is Exitus Acta Probat, "the Outcome Justifies the Deed." Vindicare operatives are the most skilled snipers in the Imperium of Man and are usually directed to assassinate targets who are believed to have been possessed by daemonic entities or to have been corrupted by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos.

History
Like the other temples of the Officio Assassinorum, the Vindicare Temple was originally the Vindicare Clade, created some time during the Great Crusade in the early 31st Millennium at the behest of Malcador the Sigillite, the Regent of Terra, who was secretly the Grand Master of Assassins, and its first Director Primus, who was kown only as Sire Vindicare. The Vindicare Clade was established in a secret location on Terra at the direction of the Grand Master of Assassins and was tasked like all of the other Assassin Clades with killing those who opposed the formation of the Imperium of Man and the will of the Emperor of Mankind. During the Horus Heresy it provided members to the secret Execution Force that contained 8 Assassins from all 6 Clades of the Officio Assassinorum to try and eliminate the Warmaster Horus. This mission ultimately failed, much to Mankind's ill fortune.

Operatives
The most prominent feature of the Vindicare Temple of the Officio Assassinorum is that it trains its subjects to near-perfection in the art of marksmanship; they aim to kill the Emperor's worst enemies with a single bullet. Vindicare Assassins are also trained in stealth and evasion techniques as well as marksmanship in order that they may get into the most advantageous position from which to take their shot. The necessity for these skills is determined by the fact that a kill can only be made from the best position. Indeed, Vindicare Assassins have been known to occupy a position for days, or even weeks, before taking their shot.

The Vindicare are often employed in eliminating individuals for the Imperium who are suspected of harboring daemonic entities. The hope is that they can eliminate the host before the daemon is able to manifest itself on the material plane. Characters of great charisma, many false prophets and false messiahs among them, have fallen to the Vindicare's bullet, most commonly whilst they are preaching their false beliefs to their followers and spreading heresy against the Imperium. Upon this swift, brutal, and yet simple death, the erstwhile followers of such a heretic soon become disheartened and afraid. Countless heresies against the Imperium have been prevented with a single, well-aimed shot where legions of men would have failed.

Wargear
Vindicare Assassins are armed with their trademark Exitus Rifle, loaded with standard high-power ammunition as well as several more exotic shells. These include Shield-Breaker Rounds which can bypass energy shielding, Turbo-Penetrators that can pierce even a heavily armoured tank, and Hellfire Rounds which carry a potent mutagenic acid into the target. The rifles contain acute sensors able to detect the slightest changes in the climate and then adjusting the rifle to achieve optimum accuracy. The rifles will keep a loaded bullet at the very best pre-firing condition it can be in. Vindicare Assasins also wear Stealth Suits that mask their visibility in every spectra, and sophisticated Spy Masks that allow them to pick out their target no matter the level of illumination or availability of cover. Vindicare Assassins are also issued a high-powered Exitus Pistol for close-quarter work, if necessary. Occasionally Vindicare are employed to carry out demolition work on the battlefield, such as destroying an artillery battery or taking out a siege factory. In these cases the Assassin utilises the same stealth abilities that he does in sniping his target, but using remote charges and incendiary shells instead.

Dawn of War
In the real-time strategy games for the PC Dawn of War - Winter Assault and Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, the Vindicare Assassin (simply called the Assassin in the game) is the Imperial Guard's only infiltrator unit, armed with a high-powered sniper rifle. Imperial Guard Commanders can temporarily double the range and damage of the Vindicare's sniper rifle by ordering the unit to activate the rifle's Assassination Scope for a limited time (as prolonged use of the scope causes the rifle to overheat).