| Category | Races |
| Type | centaur sub-race |
| Creation | 13 Saunas 43 |
| Language | Langurâpha |
| Native | Bal-Kriav |
Legend has it that the Tribe Steppes was tamed by a race of humans that revered horses more than the gods themselves. Some say that the punishment for this sacrilege was a powerful divine curse that changed the people into malevolent bestial centaurs. If this is true, the Jara people do not remember, and do not care, for they are anarchists, hateful, and bloodthirsty carnivores.
The Jara were born from a god's jealousy. Having forsaken him for the equine, the people of Arirmarg were to be punished. On 13 Saunas 43, Krak-Oth made an example of the cultists that had given him up for zoolatry. In violation of the Mandate of the Heavens, thousands of Theegan cultists were cursed, becoming bestial centaurs. After laying waste to Ak'mrîtun's frontier, they went east to the plains of the Tribe Steppes, six years later bringing the Ak'mrîtun Empire to ruin.
Jara have mangy manes, long horse limbs, and powerfully built humanoid torsos. The horse part of their body varies in color, with black, russet, and gray being most common. The jaws of the creatures are similar to that of a hyena. They are barbaric, bloodthirsty, cunning, cruel, and show little or no emotion. They are also always chaotic evil. The jara is one of the more dangerous races to encounter with one a match for 2-3 warriors of most other races.
A cloud of dust rose over the horizon, it grew darker with each passing hour, and then thunder rolled from the plains, ten thousand sets of hooves galloping. The horde of jara swept through the frontier outposts, trampling livestock, woman, children, and the aged as if they were nothing more than grass. The elves blanketed the skies with arrows, their song in flight like a swarm of bees. Hundreds of the marauders fell under the missiles. The massive half-horse and half-humanoids were an ugly, bestial race. Their hairy and heavily muscled legs were scarred from riding through briars, thickets, and wounds from many battles. The jara's breasts, arms and faces were tattoo with spiders, hawks, dragons, snakes, and other predatory beasts. The thick and misshapen heads were set with piercing black eyes and bushy eyebrows. Some had their scraggy hair in topknots or in braids, while the chiefs were bald with a tattoo of a web and spiders. The horde wielded the cruelest of weapons, serrated and saw-tooth swords, spiked bucklers, chains, Jara Bows, and lances with pennons representing their tribe, Blood Bringer, Hawk Screech, Vulture Marrow, Bone Grinder, Entrail Eaters, and an untold number of other evil tribal names. The slaughter they brought spared no living creature in their path. A few of us, lucky to hide in the reeds of a river were spared the grisly fate of the fallen.
- Leekal the Fletcher, of Amanwen - "Last Day of Amanwen"
Jara have a word for all non-jara, "kamatar", which simply means food. The favorite drink of the jara is a mead called Englas. Jara do not have a religion and pay homage to no being. Jara are at their worst when they are rallied together under a Jara Khan, becoming a Jara Horde.
A place of reverence to the jara is the ancient ruins of Binê Sadôr.
Jara are 15% to 20% larger than a heavy warhorse. A jara is about 9 feet tall and weighs about 2,400 pounds.
| Trait | Description |
|---|---|
| Might of Krak-Oth | +10 Strength |
| Long Lasting | +8 Constitution |
| De-Evolved | -4 Intelligence |
| Gallop | speed 60ft |
| Murderous Intent | always evil aligned |
| Racial | see below |
| Trait |
|---|
| Monstrous Humanoid |
| Large Quadruped: –1 penalty to Armor Class, –1 penalty on attack rolls, –4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, +4 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed, overran, or tripped, lifting and carrying limits three times those of Medium bipedal characters. |
| Space/Reach: 10 feet/5 feet. |
| Darkvision out to 60 feet. |
| Racial Hit Dice: A jara begins with four levels of monstrous humanoid, which provide 4d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +4, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +4, and Will +4. |
| Racial Skills: A jara’s monstrous humanoid levels give it skill points equal to 7 × (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Listen, Move Silently, Spot, and Survival. |
| Racial Feats: A jara’s monstrous humanoid levels give it two feats. |
| +4 natural armor bonus. |
| Natural Weapons: 2 hooves (1d8). |
| Weapon Proficiency: A jara is automatically proficient with all simple weapons, the longsword, and the longbow (including the composite longbow). |
| Favored Class: Barbarian. |
| Level Adjustment: +3. |