The Chakram is a Indian native warrior featured in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. It can be acquired once a Trading Post is built on a Udasi Settlement.

OverviewEdit

The Chakram is a Native unit similar to the Grenadier, as it attacks with exploding hoops. The exploding hoop effect is not the hoop exploding, it is the ability of a hoop to ricochet off of shields, armor or even flesh, doing area damage to nearby soldiers. It can be trained from a Trading Post built on a Udasi Temple site. The temples required can be found on maps around India, such as Deccan. They can also be sent from a Home City. They are one of the most powerful native unit , and as they are they are also only archers with splash damage,that makes them are very difficult to counter. If used properly they can wipe out an entire army. They are also excellent for raiding enemy settlers or villagers, killing several villager or settlers by one hoop.

HistoryEdit

The chakram is a throwing weapon from India. Its shape is of a circle with a sharp outer edge from 12–30 centimeters (4.7–12 in) in diameter. It is also known as chalikar or circles.

Unlike Chinese wind and fire wheels, which are generally larger and used as melee weapons only, the chakram was designed to be thrown but could also be used in-close. Because of its aerodynamic circular shape it is not easily deflected by wind.

Earliest references to the chakram come from the Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana where the Sudarshana Chakra is the weapon of the god Vishnu. Chakradhaari ("chakram-wielder," or simply "circle-man") is a name for Krishna. The chakram was later used extensively by the Sikhs as recently as the days of Ranjit Singh. It was often associated with Sikhs because of the Nihang practice of wearing chakram on their arms, around the neck and even tied in tiers on high turbans.

From its native India, variations of the chakram spread to other Asian countries. In Tibet, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the chakram was not flat but torus-like. The Mongol cavalry used a similar throwing weapon with spiked edges.