Vanus
- "The cleanest kill is one that another performs in your stead with no knowledge of your incitement."
- --Fon Tariel, Infocyte of the Clade Vanus, M31
Vanus is an Assassin temple of the Officio Assassinorum in Warhammer 40,000. The Vanus are the intelligence-gathering division of the Assassinorum, specializing in using humans augmented to collect and analyze data and find traitors to the Imperium of Man. They also specialize in arranging "unfortunate accidents" that will remove said traitors without anyone being aware of the Assassinorum's involvement. Originally, this focus on data analysis leaves no room for actual physical training in assassination, leaving them extremely vulnerable in the "field". However, by M32 they were accomplished infiltrators and martial artists who come armed with the standard synskin, blades, pistols and augmented muscle fibres, with one hiding on Mars for a few weeks before deciding to go full commando and taking out a trio of skitarii single-handedly.
Contemporary cyberwarfare, mobbing, trolling don't flatter yourselves kids, and lurking through the internet can be seen as ancestral relatives of the "getting information" aspect of the Vanus Temple.
Although he does not appear in the board game, a Vanus assassin appears in the novel Assinorium: Execution Force. He is the sole survivor of the mission, and is haunted by his teamates death.
Homebrew Vanus Assassin
| Pts | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv/Iv | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 100 | 7 | 2+ | 2+ | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 6+/4++ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Keywords | Faction | Imperium, Officio Assassinorum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-Faction | INFANTRY, CHARACTER, AGENT OF THE IMPERIUM, Vanus ASSASSIN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Special Rules
- Agent of the Imperium (1/detachment can be in an Imperium detachment without taking up a slot, without preventing detachment abilities in that detachment, without preventing army abilities in that army, and ignoring any rule that requires it to share a specific faction keyword with its detachment and any rules for determining your army faction.)
- Deep Strike
- Execution Force (If you have an Imperium non-Fallen Warlord, you can include this unit in your army as part of a Vanguard Detachment even if that detachment contains no HQ units. If you do so, that Detachment’s Command Benefits are changed to "None" and its Restrictions are changed to "This Detachment cannot include the same datasheet more than once.")
- Fearless
- Independent Operative (Cannot join or be joined, cannot generate Warlord Traits if made warlord.)
- Lightning Reflexes (4++ invulnerable save, has no penalties on Initiative for charging through difficult terrain.)
- Move Through Cover (Roll an extra die when rolling to move through difficult terrain.)
- No Escape (-2 to Look Out, Sir tests vs wounds this model inflicts.)
- Preferred Enemy
- Hatred
- Precision Shots
- Precision Strikes
- Knowledge is Power: While you have at least one Vanus Assassin in play, all friendly models with Preferred Enemy(X) instead have Preferred Enemy and all models with Hatred(X) instead have Hatred.
- Controlled Information: When either you or your opponent rolls for reserves (and table edge for the reserves, if appropriate), your Assassin may make an Ld check; if he passes, he simply chooses the outcome, but if he fails, your opponent simply chooses the outcome. If your opponent also has a model with this rule and chooses to use it, this is instead a contested Leadership check, with the winner determining the outcome. This also applies to the rolls for determining board edge/first turn deployment, night fighting, and seize the initiative.
- Unfortunate Rumors: Pick 1 unit in your opponents' army list. If that unit was an ally, it counts as a Come the Apocalypse ally, and if it had Objective Secured, it loses it.
- Wargear
- 2 Master-crafted Laspistols (Vanus Assassins do not carry exotic weaponry, to ensure they can pass weapons inspections without any unfortunate questions).
- 1 Vanus Signum: Combination Signum/Auspex; may sacrifice the entire shooting phase to grant a target friendly model within 12" Split Fire, Precision Shots, and the Vanus Assassin's BS, OR to reduce the cover saves of target enemy unit within 12" by the Vanus Assassin's BS, to a minimum of 0, for the duration of the phase. May sacrifice the entire assault phase to grant target friendly model within 12" this model's Initiative, WS, and Precision Strikes for the duration of the assault phase.
- 3 Servo-skulls: These are placed on the battlefield (and can be placed anywhere outside the enemy deployment zone) after deployment areas have been determined, but before any forces are deployed. Enemy infiltrators cannot set up within 12" of a Servo-skull and enemy scouts can't use their pre-game move to approach within 12" of a Servo-skull. A friendly unit arriving by Deep Strike rolls one D6 less for scatter if it aims to arrive within 12" of a Servo-skull and friendly blast templates placed within 12" of a Servo-skull roll one D6 less for scatter. They can't technically be destroyed, but if an enemy gets within 6" of one it will be removed from play.
