Church of Latter-Day Marksmen

## Description:

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen, also known as the Bearers of Good Arms or the Diameter of Fate, is a Protestant-adjacent national congregation of religious followers that worship firearms, ballistics, and the men that invented them. Founded in the United States, the group quickly spread to Russia and parts of Eastern Europe. The group seeks to protect its members from the dangers of outsiders and evil by way of magic and the liberal application of firearms.

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen is a well-known sect of Protestantism in the United States, and has existed in the K2 Universe for seventy (70) to seventy-five (75) years. They are famous and popular, particularly in the American Midwest and South.

### Organization:

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen is a religious organization led by a Cannoncaller, a theologically educated priest and expert marksman charged with leading the entire group as its sole head. Below the Cannoncaller sit the Magnums, high-ranking officials that advise the Cannoncaller and oversee areas of the group's influence in a rank equivalent to a bishop or Archbishop. Below the Magnums are the Gunslingers, heroes of honor, battle, and marksmanship that were given powers by the Gun Gods and led lives of travel, adventure, and martyrdom; these heroes are celebrated within the group through legends and parables about them, with those Gunslingers that still live being treated as prophets and experts in their field. Below the Gunslingers come the Volleys, specially trained priests of the order that specialize in the remote magical manipulation of many firearms at once. Underneath the Volleys come the Rifles, standard clergymen and priests that lead the many rites and rituals of the group. Right beneath the Rifles come the Shotguns, dedicated soldiers and guardians of the order. Underneath the Shotguns come the Pistols, the basic initiates of the group. The remaining uninitiated masses are referred to as The Unrifled.

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen recruits from the scared normal folks who lack access or education in magic. They take in anyone and everyone they can find and bring them under the umbrella of the Church. The growing forces of the Church are needed to combat the Inquisition and Iscariot Crusaders of the Catholic Church.

The Church's primary activities include conducting their rituals, maintaining and building their arsenal of firearms and vehicles, and defending the lives of those that are unable to do so.

The JPCU views the Church of Latter-Day Marksmen as a collective effort by the American people to hold onto their ideas and values in the face of The Collide, a noble cause. However, the JPCU also recognizes their radical beliefs and untrusting nature, and keeps constant surveillance on its churches and properties to ensure compliance with the JPCU and the CBPA.

#### Ranks:

1. Cannoncaller
2. Magnum
3. Gunslinger
4. Volley
5. Rifle
6. Shotgun
7. Pistol
8. The Unrifled

#### Sects:

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen is known to have several denominations within its wider organization, each of which places a particular type of modern ballistic firearm or weapon as the superior. Each of the denominations worships the same higher deities, but have several minor ones that differ from one another; with each sect worshipping a slightly different pantheon and holding different ideas about the superiority of certain types of weapon, heated and even violent arguments and debates are common.

##### List of Sects:

1. Order of the Arrowhead: A sect dedicated to the use of bows and arrows, crossbows, ballistae, etc.
2. Order of the Pistol: A sect dedicated to the use of pistols.
3. Order of the Gunslinger: A sect dedicated to the specialized training of fast-drawing, quick-shooting, accurate fire (*Note: with pistols, usually*).
4. Order of the Ten Paces: A sect dedicated to the worship of dueling as a holy act; specialize in duelist training.
5. Order of the True Marksman: A sect dedicated to the perfection of one's aim; specializes in the use of long-range weapons and sniper rifles.
6. Order of the Buck: A sect dedicated to the use of shotguns; known for their specialty in hunting and crowd-control.
7. Order of the Concealed Carry: A sect dedicated to the use of concealed weapons and arsenals hidden on the user's person.
8. Order of the Everyday Carry: A sect dedicated to the application of strategy and preparation in both offense and defense; specialize in planning and the creation of contingencies for all situations.
9. Order of the Rocket: A sect dedicated to the use of rockets, fireworks, missiles, and grenades.
10. Order of the Mechanized March: A sect dedicated to the use of armed vehicles.
11. Order of Firepower: A sect dedicated to overwhelming firepower; artillery, mass volley fire, miniguns and other fast-firing automatic weapons, dual-wielding, etc.
12. Order of the Explosive: A sect dedicated to the use of explosives (including nuclear weapons).
13. Order of the Cleansing Flame: A sect dedicated to the use of flame and heat-based weapons.
14. Order of the Light: A sect dedicated to the use of lasers and plasma weaponry.
15. Order of the Force: A sect dedicated to the use of railguns; very recent addition to the Church.

### Equipment:

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen uses all technology available to them, primarily in the form of firearms and firearm production. Their churches are built with factories in their basements to arm and supply the church members; access to high-quality black market weaponry is assured, although such services are only open to clergy.

Magically, the CLDM uses their divine powers to control and manipulate firearms in all of their forms. Summoning explosions, conjuring firearms from thin air, calling firearms from the surrounding countryside, curving bullets and many more feats of power are commonplace amongst the group's clergy; normal followers are not blessed with these abilities.

#### Artifacts:

1. [REDACTED]

#### Military

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen does employ the Shotgun-rank of individuals as dedicated soldiers and guards, but all followers and clergy are trained with at least one type of firearm. Everyone is enlisted in the CLDM militia that work to defend the weak against the forces that seek to rob them of their lives and freedom. Every member is trained and willing to kill, and is usually very well armed.

### Religion

The Church of Latter-Day Marksmen is a polytheistic heresy of the Protestant faith that directs its attention outwards to focus on spreading the word and continuing to fulfill their mission of protecting the weak and humanoid. For the members of the CLDM, divine interaction comes in the form of great heroes and precious artifacts, primarily their weapons. The religion involves many parables, most of which are about or related to the famous Gunslingers and martyrs of old. The afterlife for the followers of the Church of Latter-Day Marksmen comes in the form of an eternal party for those who die good deaths and properly venerate their firearms; this afterlife is, similar to heaven, unreachable by living beings. The existence of the supernatural comes in the form of the Gunslingers and the manifestation of the power of firearms through divine magic. The forms of worship for the members of the CLDM include frequent maintenance rituals, lessons, group prayers, and solemn individual prayers on holidays. Holidays are very numerous and celebrate past heroes, past miracles, great priests, great saints, and important innovations/historical events.

#### Pantheon:

1. John Moses Browning: The god of Victory also associated with heavier firearms.
2. Samuel Colt: The god of High Noon, a critically important time of the day for members of the CLDM for its ritualistic purposes during duels; also the patron deity of all Gunslingers and users of pistols.
3. Oliver Winchester: The god of Battle and Debts, associated with honor, courage, and dueling.
4. Eugene Stoner: The god of Maintenance and Rituals, associated with piety, production and efficiency, and universal application.
5. Alfred Nobel: The god of Destruction and Death worshipped by the Order of the Explosive.

Prophecies/Legends:

1. Final Ride: A prophecy that involves the legendary return of history's famous gunslingers, gunfighters, and gun makers to the world of the living during the Church's time of need; heroes like Geronimo, Jessie James, Sitting Bull, and Billy the Kid all sit among the honored and expected dead that will rise from their graves on behalf of God to exact judgement on the Church's foes.

#### Clergy:

The clergy of the Church of Latter-Day Marksmen are an all-male group that serve as teachers, historians, ceremonial leaders, and spiritual advisors. Clergy live very spartan lifestyles, constantly seeking to enhance their survivalist and marksmanship skills, as well as hone their magical gifts. Clergy are not allowed to have a family, and are urged to be celibate.

#### Cultural Aspects:

The CLDM's symbol is known as the Hammer, Trigger, and Barrel—a depiction of the only essential parts for a functioning firearm. The group's holy color is gunmetal gray. The church's histories and parables are passed down via oral tradition. The group's creation myth is that of succession, with their gods of guns succeeding the Abrahamic God following The Collide, and their major myth and symbol is quests and journeys,

Deadly sins for the members of the Church of Latter-Day Marksmen are irresponsibility, selfishness, blasphemy, and despair. In contrast, the group's high virtues are piety, diligence, and bravery.

The art forms most associated with the CLDM are engravings, especially on their weapons and armor, and ritualistic tattoos.

Coming of age within the CLDM comes when a young person reaches the age of fourteen (14), at which point they undergo the group's coming-of-age ritual, which includes a private ceremony with only the immediate family.

Marriage of members within the CLDM includes an exchange of wealth between the bride and groom with the parents and families of their partner, with actual marriage ceremonies being a large scale celebration lasting several days and nights.

Death rites for the members of the CLDM usually include some variation of a gun salute, performed by a firing squad. The size of the firing squad, the size and type of weapon they use, and the duration of the salute all recognize the deceased's rank, wealth, and piety within the community. A good death for a member of the CLDM, especially their clergy, is a death achieved in battle at the end of a foe's gun.

A major taboo within the Church of Latter-Day Marksmen is mental illness, which they see as a major obstacle in the way of the responsible and safe use and maintenance of firearms.