Warhammer 40K: The 5 Greatest Assassination Attempts Of The Grimdark
With so many assassinations that happen in the Imperium it can be hard to keep track. Here are a few that altered the course of the Grimdark.
The Office of the Assassinorum is a secretive lot. Dispatching their assassins to take out dangerous threats they prune the galaxy of targets deemed to dangerous or sensitive to tackle with more overt means. I planetary governor here, a sector tyrant there, perhaps a rogue Warmaster or two…you get the idea. But there are a few that changed the course of the Grimdark — and not all of them succeeded.
The Assassination of Warmaster Horus
“The first known Execution Force was formed to assassinate the traitor Primarch Horus Lupercal during the Horus Heresy of M31. While the mission resulted in failure and the death of all members, the Execution Force did manage to eliminate a counter-assassin tasked by Erebus of the Word Bearers with eliminating the Emperor.”
This attempt is documented in greater detail in Nemesis by James Swallow. It fails and because of that failure Horus is able to continue his plans to wage war on the Imperium. While the Assassins did some a counter-plot, had they succeeded, the Imperium would look very different today!
Assassin M’Shen Kills Konrad Curze
The Night Lords are/were a brutal Legion. But Conrad Kurze viewed his brutality and subsequent rebellion against the Imperium as justified. He knew that he was the target of assassin M’Shen and viewed his death as “vindication” that he was right. Was he a principled Primarch? A flawed “hero” perhaps? Only in his own mind it turns out. But with his death, his legion was “freed” to become an even dark and daemonicly powered fighting force. We wonder what the Night Lords would have been like if he had stuck around…
The Assassination of Severin Drask
Severin Drask was a Sorcerer Lord of the Crimson Slaughter. He was tasked by Abaddon to execute what would be called the Achyllan Atrocity. Had this plot succeeded, the Eye of Terror would have been extended all the way to Terra. Obviously, this attempt was stopped. Eventually the Great Rift did happen, but Terra was spared. Just imagine how different things would have been if Terra HAD been swallowed by the warp.
The Failed Attempt on Cardinal Xaphan of Vraks
A Vindicare Assassin failed to eliminate Cardinal-Astral Xaphon on Vraks Prime. The Cardinal had already started to become problematic when the assassin was dispatched. However, what really sealed the deal was the failed assassination attempt.
“Surviving the sniper’s bullet thanks to the energy field of his rosarius and faithful guards which acted as human shields, Xaphan’s preachers spread the word that heretics and traitors had been behind the assassination attempt. Rioting soon erupted on Vraks as Frateris Militia and Planetary Defense Forces loyal to the Cardinal overran the Administratum‘s, Adepta Sororitas, and Adeptus Arbites compounds on Vraks. Xaphan had become the supreme ruler of Vraks and commander of the Vraksian Renegade Militia.”
This failure led directly to the conflict on Vraks. The Vindicare should have loaded a Shield-Breaker round instead…
The “Assassination” of Lord Solar Macharius
This one’s a bit of a twisty tale. The legend is that Macharius died from Jungle Fever contracted on Jucha. Other people claimed that he “willing died” because his conquest was at an end and he wanted to “rest with the old heroes of the Imperium.” But that’s not entirely accurate…
“The truth however is far darker, and was seemingly covered up by Imperial authorities after his death. While battling his traitorous ex-protege Richter, who is said to have turned to worshiping Nurgle, Macharius contracted several deadly diseases besieging the traitor world of Loki and may have only had weeks to live. Macharius was eventually able to kill Richter, but was in turn killed by a member of the Officio Assassinorum disguised as an Inquisitorial Stormtrooper with the cooperation of Inquisitor Hyronimus Drake, who may have been sabotaging Macharius’ war effort on Loki. However to suppress the truth of the incident, the Assassin then killed Drake as well and the reasons and figures behind this conspiracy are left ambiguous.”
The assassination of Macharius was an elaborate cover-up to keep his legend alive. He’s still got the record for the most successful Crusade of the Astra Militarum ever. In only seven years he conquered nearly a thousand worlds for the Imperium. That’s quite the impression. So maybe the truth is left buried so his legend can live on.
What are you favorite Assassination attempts in the Grimdark?
