Spelunky is © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC, and is used under the [Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt). spelunky.ai is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Mossmouth. The game and its assets may not be sold. Music by George Buzinkai and Jonathan Perry; sound effects made in SFXR. From Spelunky Classic 1.1, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC. # Kali From the spelunky.ai wiki: . Verified against the spelunky.ai port [v0.1.10](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/releases/tag/v0.1.10) on 28 October 2026. Kali is a character in Spelunky Classic, the goddess of the altars, who rewards sacrifices with gifts and punishes the player who destroys one of her altars. ![The grey stone head of a goddess with a tall crown, wide eyes and an open mouth](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/1d3f433106e37ef1/sprites/sKaliHead1/frames/0%404x.png) | Kali | | | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Role | Goddess of the altars | | Object | `oKaliHead` | | Found in | [The Mines](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mines), [The Jungle](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jungle), [The Ice Caves](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ice-caves), [The Temple](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/temple) | Kali never moves. Her statue stands over an altar in a side room of some levels: a stone body behind the altar and a head above it, one of three faces drawn at random[^1][^2]. She speaks in the messages at the foot of the screen, after each sacrifice and when an altar is destroyed. The altar itself, where it's made and what it's made of, is [Kali's Altar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-altar)'s page; this one is about the goddess, and [Kali's favour](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-favour) and [Sacrifice](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/sacrifice) have the rules of her favour and of sacrificing in full. ## Behaviour ### Favour Kali keeps a favour for the player, a count the game never shows, which a new game sets to 0[^3]. Sacrifices raise it ([Sacrificing](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kali#sacrificing)), a destroyed altar takes 16 off it, and nothing else changes it[^4]. After each sacrifice her message says how she feels, from "SHE SEEMS VERY ANGRY WITH YOU!" at -8 or less to "SHE SEEMS ECSTATIC WITH YOU!" at 32 or more[^5]. [Kali's favour](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-favour) has the count, every message and the marks. ### Her gifts **Clip: Damsel sacrificed to Kali.** The player carries a damsel onto Kali's altar and throws her down on it. She lies still on the altar for a moment, then bursts into flame: Kali accepts the sacrifice and gives a compass, which the player picks up. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/1d3f433106e37ef1/clips/damsel/sacrifice/clip.mp4)) The first time a sacrifice brings the favour to each of three marks, she gives a gift, which appears on the altar's right half, free to take[^6]: - **At 8**, a piece of equipment the player hasn't got, with two puffs of smoke. - **At 16**, the [Kapala](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kapala), the only way to get one[^7]. - **At 32**, 99 bombs, or 4–8 hearts for a player with 80 or more, and hearts again for every 16 more after it. Each is given once a game, and a mark a sacrifice jumps past is skipped for good. Which equipment, and the rest, is on [Kali's favour](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-favour#her-gifts). In the clip, a Damsel thrown down on the altar brings the favour from 0 to 8, and Kali gives a [Compass](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/compass)[^8]. ### Her anger Destroying her altar angers her. Either half of it destroyed, by anything (a [Bomb](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bomb)'s blast, a [UFO](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ufo)'s laser, or the floor under it taken away, which makes it crumble once it's on screen), defiles it: "YOU DARE DEFILE MY ALTAR?" and "I WILL PUNISH YOU!", the screen shakes, the favour falls by 16, and both halves go[^9][^10][^7]. What she does depends on how many altars the player has defiled in the game[^11]: | Altar defiled | Punishment | | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------- | | The first | 6 [Spiders](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spider) spill out of her head, which is left a hole | [^12] | | The second | A heavy [ball and chain](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ball-and-chain) on the player's ankle, and a new one on every level after, to the end of the game | [^13][^14] | | Any after | The level goes dark, and a [Ghost](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ghost) comes in from the edge of the screen unless there's one already; on a level already dark with a ghost, six more Spiders | [^15] | **Clip: Kapala filling.** Kali's gift, a kapala, appears on her altar, and the player picks it up. A laser destroys the altar, spiders come out of her statue and he whips them; each drop of blood he touches fills the kapala, and the ninth turns into a heart. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/1d3f433106e37ef1/clips/kapala/heart/clip.mp4)) In the first clip, Kali has just given the Kapala when a UFO's laser destroys her altar, and six Spiders come out of her head; the player whips them, and their blood fills the Kapala[^16]. **Clip: Ball and chain.** A bomb destroys an altar of Kali's for the second time, and a heavy ball appears, chained to the player's ankle. He can't climb away from it, so he drags it along the ground and down to the exit. Between levels his walking figure drags one too, and the next level starts with a new one. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/1d3f433106e37ef1/clips/ball-and-chain/drag/clip.mp4)) In the second, a Bomb destroys an altar for the second time, and the ball is chained to the player; the screen between levels and the next level chain him to it again[^17][^18]. **Clip: Kali's third punishment.** Carrying the ball Kali chained him to, the player throws a bomb at her altar, and its blast destroys it: "YOU DARE DEFILE MY ALTAR? I WILL PUNISH YOU!" The level goes dark, and a ghost comes in from the edge of the screen and drifts toward him. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/1d3f433106e37ef1/clips/kali/ghost/clip.mp4)) In the third, the player throws a Bomb at a third altar. The level goes dark, and, as there's no ghost yet, one comes in from the screen's left, the side of the room the player is in[^19][^20]. **Clip: Six more spiders.** On a dark level with a ghost already in it, a bomb the player throws takes the floor from under Kali's altar, which crumbles: her fourth punishment. Six spiders spill out of her head, and one drops onto the player and kills him. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/1d3f433106e37ef1/clips/kali/spiders/clip.mp4)) In the last, on a level that's dark with a ghost already, a Bomb takes the floor from under a fourth altar, which crumbles; six Spiders come out of Kali's head, and one kills the player[^21][^22]. ## Interactions ### Sacrificing A stunned or dead monster, or a thrown or dead [Damsel](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/damsel), left lying still on either half of an altar for 20 steps is sacrificed: it bursts into flame and is gone, and Kali's message is "KALI ACCEPTS THE SACRIFICE!" ("YOUR SACRIFICE" for a Damsel)[^23][^24]. A Damsel is worth 8; of the monsters, a stunned [Shopkeeper](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/shopkeeper) is worth the most, 12, and a dead one half what it's worth stunned. At a favour of -8 or less, "KALI DEVOURS THE SACRIFICE!", and it adds nothing. The player's own body is never a sacrifice. [Sacrifice](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/sacrifice) has the rite step by step, what can be sacrificed and what each is worth. ### Defiling her altar The [altar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-altar)'s page has the ways an altar is destroyed. A defiled altar is gone for the level, and a level has one altar at most[^25]. A favour below 0 recovers a sacrifice at a time, as long as it's above -8. At -8 or below it never does: only a sacrifice raises it, and she devours every one[^26]. So a single defiled altar shuts her off for the rest of the game unless the favour was above 8 before it. ## Locations | Where | How | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | [The Mines](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mines), from level 2 | A side room off the path, 1 in 16 a room, one a level | [^25] | | [The Jungle](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jungle) | A side room, 1 in 12 for two rooms in three, one a level | [^27] | | [The Ice Caves](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ice-caves) | A side room, 1 in 12 for half the rooms, one a level | [^28] | | [The Temple](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/temple), but not the [City of Gold](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/city-of-gold) | A side room, 1 in 12 for three rooms in four, one a level | [^29] | The [Sacrifice Pit](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/sacrifice-pit), a Temple level, is named for her: arriving, the player says "I CAN HEAR PRAYERS TO KALI!"[^30]. ## Trivia - A sacrifice at a favour below 0 has a branch of its own, which adds the body's value as the other does and then sets that value to 0. The body is destroyed a moment later, so the line changes nothing, and an angry Kali takes a sacrifice as gladly as a pleased one[^31][^32][^7]. In the replay, a defiled altar leaves her favour at −4, and a dead [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti) on the next level's altar raises it by 2, to −2[^33]: ```gml objects/oEnemy/step.gml:148-153 else if (global.favor < 0) { if (status == 98) global.favor += favor; else global.favor += favor/2; if (favor > 0) favor = 0; } ``` [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:148-153`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L148-L153), from `spelunky.gmk`, Spelunky Classic 1.1's source, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC ([Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt)). - A Damsel's sacrifice has a branch that would make a stunned one worth half as much again, 12, but she's never in the state it tests for, so she's worth the same alive or dead[^34][^7]. - A dead Vampire is worth half a favour, so the favour needn't be a whole number, and "SHE HAS FORGIVEN YOU!", which needs it to be exactly 0, can be missed[^35][^36]. - With two altars or more defiled, the ending's walking figure drags a ball and chain too[^37]. ## FAQ ### What does Kali do in Spelunky Classic? She keeps a favour for the player. A stunned or dead monster or Damsel left on one of her altars is a sacrifice that raises it, and at 8, 16 and 32 favour she gives a gift: a piece of equipment, the Kapala, and a full bomb bag. Destroying an altar costs 16 favour and brings a punishment. ### How do you get the Kapala from Kali in Spelunky Classic? Reach 16 favour. A sacrificed Damsel gives 8, so it takes two (on two levels' altars, as a level has one at most), or a Damsel and stunned monsters on the same altar, such as a Shopkeeper, worth 12. [Sacrifice](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/sacrifice) lists what each monster is worth. ### What happens if you destroy Kali's altar in Spelunky Classic? "YOU DARE DEFILE MY ALTAR? I WILL PUNISH YOU!" Her favour falls by 16. The first time, six spiders come out of her statue's head; the second, the player is chained to a heavy ball for the rest of the game; after that, the level goes dark and a ghost comes for him, or, if it's dark with a ghost already, six more spiders. ### What does "Kali devours your sacrifice" mean in Spelunky Classic? That her favour is -8 or lower, after a destroyed altar. She takes the body and adds nothing to her favour for it, so the player can't buy his way back into her good graces. ### How much favour is a sacrifice to Kali worth in Spelunky Classic? A Damsel is worth 8. A stunned Shopkeeper, worth 12, is the most of any monster, and a dead monster is worth half what it is stunned. [Sacrifice](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/sacrifice) lists every one. ## See also - **Related:** [Kali's Altar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-altar), [Kali's favour](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-favour), [Sacrifice](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/sacrifice), [Sacrifice pit](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/sacrifice-pit), [Damsel](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/damsel), [Kapala](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kapala), [Ball and Chain](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ball-and-chain), [Ghost](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ghost), [Spider](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spider) ## References [^1]: [`scripts/scrRoomGen.gml:363-369`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrRoomGen#L363-L369) [^2]: [`objects/oKaliHead/create.gml:1-6`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oKaliHead/create#L1-L6) [^3]: [`scripts/scrClearGlobals.gml:65-67`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrClearGlobals#L65-L67) [^4]: [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy.gml:18`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy#L18) [^5]: [`scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:24-111`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrGetFavorMsg#L24-L111) [^6]: [`scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:27-110`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrGetFavorMsg#L27-L110) [^7]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^8]: Clip damsel/sacrifice [^9]: [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/step.gml:1-5`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/step#L1-L5) [^10]: [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy.gml:11-67`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy#L11-L67) [^11]: [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy.gml:20-60`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy#L20-L60) [^12]: [`objects/oKaliHead/alarm_0.gml:1-8`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oKaliHead/alarm_0#L1-L8) [^13]: [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy.gml:27-38`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy#L27-L38) [^14]: [`objects/oLevel/create.gml:31-42`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oLevel/create#L31-L42) [^15]: [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy.gml:39-58`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy#L39-L58) [^16]: Clip kapala/heart [^17]: Clip ball-and-chain/drag [^18]: [`objects/oTransition/create.gml:26-37`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oTransition/create#L26-L37) [^19]: Clip kali/ghost [^20]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-seed-38-kali-third-punishment.txt` [^21]: Clip kali/spiders [^22]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-seed-38-kali-six-more-spiders.txt` [^23]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:130-166`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L130-L166) [^24]: [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml:311-348`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step#L311-L348) [^25]: [`scripts/scrRoomGen.gml:87-91`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrRoomGen#L87-L91) [^26]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:144-147`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L144-L147) [^27]: [`scripts/scrRoomGen2.gml:79-85`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrRoomGen2#L79-L85) [^28]: [`scripts/scrRoomGen3.gml:68-74`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrRoomGen3#L68-L74) [^29]: [`scripts/scrRoomGen4.gml:68-79`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrRoomGen4#L68-L79) [^30]: [`objects/oPlayer1/alarm_0.gml:59-64`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oPlayer1/alarm_0#L59-L64) [^31]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:148-153`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L148-L153) [^32]: [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml:329-334`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step#L329-L334) [^33]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-seed-11-kali-angry-sacrifice.txt` [^34]: [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml:331`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step#L331) [^35]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:154-158`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L154-L158) [^36]: [`scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:26`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrGetFavorMsg#L26) [^37]: [`objects/oEnd/create.gml:6-17`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnd/create#L6-L17) ### Source code - [`objects/oKaliHead/create.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oKaliHead/create) - [`objects/oKaliHead/alarm_0.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oKaliHead/alarm_0) - [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/destroy) - [`objects/oSacAltarLeft/step.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oSacAltarLeft/step) - [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step) - [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step) - [`scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrGetFavorMsg) - [`scripts/scrClearGlobals.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrClearGlobals) - [`objects/oLevel/create.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oLevel/create) - [`objects/oTransition/create.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oTransition/create)