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. # Kapala 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 27 October 2026. The Kapala is an equipment item in Spelunky Classic, Kali's second gift, that collects the blood the player touches and turns every ninth drop into a heart. ![A white skull cup with a black rim](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/a05103153f8d82b4/sprites/sKapala/frames/0%404x.png) | Kapala | | | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Kind | Equipment | | Effect | Every ninth drop of blood touched heals a heart[^1] | | Object | `oKapala` | | Found in | The Mines (Kali's gift, at her altar)[^2], The Jungle (Kali's gift, at her altar)[^3], The Ice Caves (Kali's gift, at her altar)[^4], The Temple (Kali's gift, at her altar)[^5] | Wearing it, the player heals by fighting: the drops of blood that fly when something is hurt or killed fill it as he touches them, and every ninth gives him a heart. Kali gives it as her second gift, at one of her altars, and nothing else in the game makes one. It's worn from the moment it's picked up until the game ends. ## Effect **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/a05103153f8d82b4/clips/kapala/heart/clip.mp4)) Picking it up puts it on: the message "YOU GOT THE KAPALA! IT THIRSTS FOR BLOOD..." shows, the Kapala disappears, and an icon of it joins the row under the hearts[^6]. The icon shows how full it is, in five stages from empty to nearly full[^7]. It stays on until a new game starts, which clears it and empties it[^8][^9][^10]. Each drop of blood the player touches while wearing it goes into it: the drop vanishes in a spark, the Kapala fills by one, and the player flashes red. On the ninth drop it empties and gives him 1 heart, with a heart over his head and a kiss's sound[^1][^11]. There's no limit but the game's own: hearts stop at 99[^12]. A drop can only be collected once it's 5 steps old[^13][^14]. Blood flies when a monster or the player is hurt or killed, unless the monster is bloodless, and only while there are fewer than 16 drops and other bits of debris about[^15]. Any drop counts, the player's own too[^16]. The clip shows Kali's gift appearing on her altar and the player picking it up; spiders come out of her statue when a laser breaks the altar, and as he whips them, the drops he touches fill the Kapala until the ninth turns into a heart, taking him from 3 hearts to 4[^17]. ## Obtaining | Source | Chance | | | ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | Kali's second gift | Given once the player's favour with her reaches 16 at an altar, if she hasn't given it already | [^18] | Kali's altars can come in every area but Olmec's Lair. The player gains her favour by putting a body on the altar: a Damsel's gives 8, a monster's what it's worth to her, a stunned one more than a dead one[^16]. At 8 she gives her first gift, a piece of equipment, and at 16 the Kapala, which appears on the altar's right half, free to take[^19]. A favour that jumps straight past 8 to 16 gets the Kapala and never the first gift. She gives it once a game. No shop sells it, no [Crate](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate) or block holds one, and the level editor has no tile for it. ## Interactions - Blood from the player's own wounds counts like anyone's, so the Kapala gives back some of what a fall onto [Spikes](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spikes) or a monster's bite costs, if he touches the drops[^16]. - A drop that falls faster than 6 pixels a step vanishes, so blood that falls far is lost[^20]. ## Tips - Drops fly up and out from where the blood came from, then fall, so a kill close to the player is the easiest blood to catch[^21]. - Blood that falls far vanishes, so blood spilt above the player is worth catching before it drops past him. ## Trivia - Its `type` is "Kapala", and its shop message "I SHOULDN'T BE SELLING THIS!", with a price of $999,999; no shop stocks it[^22][^16]. ## FAQ ### What does the Kapala do in Spelunky Classic? It collects blood. Every drop of blood the player touches fills it a little, and the ninth turns into a heart: 1 heart more, and the Kapala starts filling again. ### How do you get the Kapala in Spelunky Classic? From Kali. It's her second gift, given when the player's favour with her reaches 16 at one of her altars, by sacrificing on them. No shop sells it, and no [Crate](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crate) or block holds one. ### Does the Kapala collect the player's own blood in Spelunky Classic? Yes. Any drop of blood counts, wherever it came from, once it's 5 steps old: a monster's, a Shopkeeper's or the player's own. ## References [^1]: `objects/oPlayer1/collision_oBlood.gml:1-17` [^2]: `scripts/scrRoomGen.gml:363-369` [^3]: `scripts/scrRoomGen2.gml:483-489` [^4]: `scripts/scrRoomGen3.gml:465-471` [^5]: `scripts/scrRoomGen4.gml:371-377` [^6]: `scripts/scrStealItem.gml:57-67` [^7]: `scripts/scrDrawHUD.gml:116-124` [^8]: `scripts/scrClearGlobals.gml:49` [^9]: `scripts/scrClearGlobals.gml:87` [^10]: `objects/oTransition/create.gml:20-24` [^11]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:20-27` [^12]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:9` [^13]: `objects/oBlood/create.gml:9-13` [^14]: `objects/oBlood/alarm_2.gml:1` [^15]: `scripts/scrCreateBlood.gml:24-32` [^16]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^17]: Clip kapala/heart [^18]: `scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:52-66` [^19]: `scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:52-110` [^20]: `objects/oBlood/step.gml:3` [^21]: `objects/oBlood/create.gml:4-6` [^22]: `objects/oKapala/create.gml:3-8` ### Source code - `objects/oKapala/create.gml` - `objects/oPlayer1/collision_oBlood.gml` - `objects/oBlood/create.gml` - `scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml` - `scripts/scrStealItem.gml` - `scripts/scrCreateBlood.gml`