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I just sent this to Indcons on private chate and thought it might explain some things.

I'm working on a D20 gaming conversion for the Indian myths. It's focused on a mythical kingdom, but the geography is India, the ruler is King Vikramaditya, and the culture is Hindi as opposed to Buddhist.

I've been asked to create a 30 page table top game dealing with common weapons and armor while at the same time adding a sense of Indian magic. Therefore mystical and legendary items are expected to be added in detail, also.

Since I'm a historian, I want to treat the subject with as much historical fact as possible and not just wing it. I want to take time to describe the material and description of any artifacts. I'm hoping that fans that love Indian culture won't find any mistakes since they tend to go over such products with a critical eye. Also, it's important for me to make the readers and players feel as if they are entering another culture. As it is a fantasy game, most elements deal with weapons, armor, and magic but I plan to depend heavily on mythical lore to describe such objects and make them come alive.

This is my first work this large and since it will be almost entirely dependent upon my research I want to blow the ship out of the water on my first go. I don't have a large amount of turnaround time as this just landed on my lap as of this morning. I'm enjoying the challenge, but I figure a little help from my fellow history fans doesn't hurt. That and you wouldn't believe the junk history that you find on the net. India has a rich and in depth military history, but it seems all people want to talk about is yoga. I'm off to either Brussels or Paris this weekend to check the museums for Indian artifacts and ancient weapons, depending on which city seems to have the largest collection.

ok, that clarifies things -- however, statements like "I wish everyone was like the Indians" are pretty wierd -- Indians are as peaceful/warlike/likeable/detestable as anyone else.

For your purpose, on a game describing common weapons and armor in india in the early centuries after Christ, you would do well to note that, due to India's warmer climate, the concept of a full suit of armor never really took off, while elephants were used in a role similar to tanks of a modern military.