[A rare double feature! The ushi-onna seemed like a variant with so much else going on, I figured that giving her a separate stat-block was a good idea. The kudan does exist in physical form as fake taxidermy, similar to the ningyo.]
Kudan
CR 1 LN Magical Beast
This creature resembles a calf with a human head. It stares with wide, haunted eyes.
The kudan is a pathetic but powerful creature, capable of delivering prophecies of great power in its short life. Kudans are born from ordinary cows, but are obviously marked from birth by their ability to speak and human faces. They are eerie creatures, and most who lay eyes on a kudan report a preternatural unease from the beast’s stare. A kudan rarely lives more than a few days, and never survives for more than a month at most.
A kudan is capable of feats of mental might, but they only use these abilities to defend themselves from those that would harm or exploit them. A kudan can be asked to beseech the gods for specific information or can be forced to through magic or threats, but they usually use their fatal communion abilities to ask broad questions about events in the near future that can affect many lives. Their prophecies are fatal to them, causing the creature to shrivel and die shortly afterwards. Before their fatal prophecies, they may share their inborn knowledge of the world with other creatures, particularly lawful ones.
Ushi-onna
CR 2 LN Monstrous Humanoid
Even rarer than a kudan is the opposite, a creature with the body of a human woman and the head of a cow. An ushi-onna can grow to adulthood and may have a long life, as her prophecies are both less fatal and less reliable. An ushi-onna uses the statistics for a kudan with the giant simple template, except she is a monstrous humanoid instead of a magical beast. An ushi-onna does not have the fatal communion special ability, but adds augury to its list of psychic magic (2 PE). An ushi-onna is CR 2.
Kudan CR 1
XP 400
LN Small magical beast
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +7
Defense
AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+1 size, +1 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 13 (2d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref +4, Will +2
Immune fear
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee slam +3 (1d4)
Special Attacks baneful gaze
Psychic Magic CL 2nd, concentration +3 (+7 casting defensively)
10 PE—cause fear (DC 13, 2 PE), doom (DC 12, 1 PE), levitate (3 PE), mindlink (0 PE), mind thrust I (DC 13, 2 PE), psychic reading (1 PE), telekinetic projectile (+3 attack, 1 PE), thought shield I (1 PE)
Statistics
Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)
Feats Combat Casting
Skills Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, Perception +7, Sense Motive +4; Racial Modifiers +4 Knowledge (any two)
Languages Celestial, Common
SQ areas of expertise, fatal communion
Ecology
Environment any land
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental
Special Abilities
Areas of Expertise (Ex) A kudan treats all Knowledge skills as class skills. In addition, it gains a +4 racial bonus to two Knowledge skills of its choice.
Baneful Gaze (Su) Gaze—range 30 ft.; save Will DC 12; effect -1 to attack rolls and saves against fear for 1 minute. This is a mind-influencing fear effect.
Fatal Communion (Su) A kudan can meditate for ten minutes in order to come into contact with a higher power to ask it questions. The kudan gains the effects of a commune and divination spell at caster level 10th. One minute after using this ability, the kudan dies. A kudan slain due to using its fatal communion can only be brought back to life with a true resurrection, miracle or wish spell.
Ushi-onna CR 2
XP 600
LN Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +7Defense
AC 14, touch 10, flat-footed 14 (+4 natural)
hp 17 (2d10+6)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +5
Immune fear
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee slam +4 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks baneful gaze
Psychic Magic CL 2nd, concentration +3 (+7 casting defensively)
10 PE—augury (2 PE), cause fear (DC 13, 2 PE), doom (DC 12, 1 PE), levitate (3 PE), mindlink (0 PE), mind thrust I (DC 13, 2 PE), psychic reading (1 PE), telekinetic projectile (+2 attack, 1 PE), thought shield I (1 PE)
Statistics
Str 14, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 14
Feats Combat Casting
Skills Diplomacy +4, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +7, Sense Motive +4; Racial Modifiers +4 Knowledge (any two)
Languages Celestial, Common
SQ areas of expertise
Ecology
Environment any land
Organization solitary
Treasure standard
Special Abilities
Areas of Expertise (Ex) An ushi-onna treats all Knowledge skills as class skills. In addition, she gains a +4 racial bonus to two Knowledge skills of her choice.
Baneful Gaze (Su) Gaze—range 30 ft.; save Will DC 12; effect -1 to attack rolls and saves against fear for 1 minute. This is a mind-influencing fear effect.
Ushi-onna is a variation of the Kudan yokai, which is a yokai that appears to be a cow with a human head/face. The Ushi-onna is the opposite of this—a woman with the face/head of a cow. The Kudan as a yokai began to appear in stories at the end of the late Edo period, however the Ushi-onna began to appear shortly after WWII.
Ushi-onna/Kudan are said to be able to speak human languages. The Kudan itself is specifically a calf, who shortly after birth speaks one or more prophecies that will come true and then die. While a Kudan's prophecy can vary and be good or bad, the most well known are of major catastrophic events. It is said that a Kudan predicted the Russo-Japanese War and the Pacific War.
Because of their reputation for telling the truth, Kudan are seen as good luck, prosperity, and protection from bad events. One phrase that could be commonly seen in Edo period newspapers was, “Kudan no gotoshi,” meaning “like the Kudan” to try to add credibility to stories. This phrase still exists to assure people of a story’s truth.
Read more here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudan_(y%C5%8Dkai)#Ushi-onna
http://yokai.com/kudan/
