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. # Sacrifice 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. This page describes a secret. Sacrifice in Spelunky Classic is leaving a stunned or dead body on Kali's altar until it burns, raising her favour: a Damsel by 8, a monster by up to 12. A sacrifice is the only way to raise [Kali's favour](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-favour), and so to earn her gifts, the [Kapala](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kapala) among them. The body has to be one the game leaves lying in the level: most monsters vanish when they die, so only a few kinds, and the Damsel, can be offered. The altar is a stone table in a side room, which a level has at most one of ([Kali's Altar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-altar)). ## How it works ### The rite A monster's sacrifice is part of the code most monsters share (`oEnemy`'s step); the Damsel's is in her own step. On each step, a body is checked in this order[^1][^2]: 1. **Stunned or dead.** A monster must be stunned or dead; a Damsel must have been thrown by the player, or be dead. 2. **Lying still.** Not in the player's hands, and not moving at all, across or down. 3. **On the altar.** The point just under the middle of its feet must be on either half of an altar. 4. **Long enough.** While all three hold, a count of 20 steps runs down, one a step. It starts again whenever the body is picked up or moves, so one picked up or knocked off has to lie there for the whole count again; one lying still off the altar keeps what's left of it[^3][^4]. 5. **The sacrifice.** Once the count is out, the body bursts into flame with a burst of blood and is gone, the screen shakes, and the message is "KALI ACCEPTS THE SACRIFICE!" ("YOUR SACRIFICE" for a Damsel). Its worth is added to the favour, and Kali's message on how she feels follows, with her gift if it's earned ([Kali's favour](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-favour#her-gifts))[^5]. At a favour of -8 or less the body is taken all the same, but the message is "KALI DEVOURS THE SACRIFICE!" and nothing is added[^6]. A monster's step only runs while it's near the view, within 20 pixels of its left and top edges and 4 of its right and bottom, so a monster left on an altar the player has walked away from waits there until he comes back[^7]. ### What can be sacrificed Only a body the game leaves lying in the level counts. Most monsters, such as the [Snake](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/snake) or the [Bat](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/bat), are removed as soon as their hit points are gone, and some are never stunned. Those that lie stunned, and those that leave a dead body, are: | Sacrifice | Stunned | Dead | | | ------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ---- | ----- | | [Shopkeeper](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/shopkeeper) | 12 | 6 | [^8] | | [Damsel](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/damsel) | 8 (thrown) | 8 | [^9] | | [Hawkman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/hawkman) | 6 | 3 | [^10] | | [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti) | 4 | 2 | [^11] | | [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman) | 2 | 1 | [^12] | | [Mantrap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mantrap) | 2 | 1 | [^13] | | [Vampire](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/vampire) | 1 | 0.5 | [^14] | A dead monster is worth half a stunned one[^15]. A Damsel is worth the same either way: her code has a branch that would make her worth half as much again, but it tests for a state she's never in[^16]. The player's own body is never a sacrifice, as nothing in his code looks for the altar. ### Getting a body there A stunned monster can be picked up and carried, and set down or thrown onto the altar ([Throwing](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/throwing)). A [stomp](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/stomping) stuns a Caveman, a Yeti, a Hawkman, a Vampire, an angry Shopkeeper, and a Mantrap while it's eating or the player wears [Spike Shoes](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/spike-shoes); a stunned body thrown fast into any of them but the Shopkeeper stuns it too[^17]. A stunned monster wakes after a while: a Yeti after 200 steps, counted down while it's held or on the ground, when it slips out of the player's hands, so the altar has to be near[^18]. A Damsel is picked up and thrown as an item is, and lies stunned where she lands. ## Numbers | Value | | | | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ----- | | Steps lying still before the body burns | 20 | [^3] | | A stunned monster's worth | Its own value (most monsters' is 1) | [^19] | | A dead monster's worth | Half its value | [^20] | | A Damsel's worth | 8 | [^21] | | Devoured, adding nothing | Favour of -8 or less | [^6] | ## Examples **Clip: Yeti sacrificed to Kali.** In the Ice Caves, the player stomps a yeti beside Kali's altar, picks it up stunned and drops it on the altar. It lies still there for a moment, then bursts into flame: Kali accepts the sacrifice, and she seems happy with him. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/1d3f433106e37ef1/clips/sacrifice/yeti/clip.mp4)) - **A Yeti.** In the Ice Caves, the player stomps a Yeti beside the altar, which stuns it, picks it up and drops it on the altar's left half. It comes to rest, lies there for 20 steps, and burns: the favour goes from 8 to 12, and Kali "SEEMS HAPPY"[^22]. - **A Damsel.** Earlier on the same level, the player carries a Damsel onto the altar and throws her down on it: worth 8, she brings the favour from 0 to 8, Kali's first gift[^23]. ## Quirks - **The Kapala comes only from Kali**, so sacrifices are the only way to it, and the rare items' row of `docs/quirks.md` §1 spells out the cheapest routes: two Damsels on two levels' altars, or a Damsel and stunned monsters on one[^18][^24]. ## FAQ ### How do you sacrifice to Kali in Spelunky Classic? Stun or kill a monster that leaves a body, such as a [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman) or a [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti), or pick up a [Damsel](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/damsel), then put it down on either half of Kali's altar. Once it has lain still there, unheld, for 20 steps, it bursts into flame and Kali takes it. ### What can you sacrifice to Kali in Spelunky Classic? A Damsel, and the monsters that lie stunned or dead rather than vanishing: the Caveman, the Yeti, the [Hawkman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/hawkman), the [Shopkeeper](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/shopkeeper), the [Mantrap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mantrap) and the [Vampire](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/vampire). Never the player's own body. ### What is the best sacrifice to Kali in Spelunky Classic? A stunned Shopkeeper, worth 12 favour, then a Damsel at 8. A dead monster is worth half a stunned one; a Damsel is worth the same either way. ### Why didn't Kali accept my sacrifice in Spelunky Classic? The body must lie still, not held, on the altar for 20 steps, and a monster's only counts while it's near the view. A stunned monster that wakes first walks off. At a favour of -8 or less, after destroyed altars, Kali devours it for nothing. ## Gallery **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)) ## See also - **Related:** [Kali](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kali), [Kali's favour](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-favour), [Kali's Altar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/kalis-altar), [Damsel](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/damsel), [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman), [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti), [Hawkman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/hawkman), [Shopkeeper](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/shopkeeper), [Mantrap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mantrap), [Vampire](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/vampire) ## References [^1]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:130-166`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L130-L166) [^2]: [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml:311-348`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step#L311-L348) [^3]: [`objects/oEnemy/create.gml:33`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/create#L33) [^4]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:166`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L166) [^5]: [`scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml:24-111`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrGetFavorMsg#L24-L111) [^6]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:144-147`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L144-L147) [^7]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:7-8`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L7-L8) [^8]: [`objects/oShopkeeper/create.gml:14`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oShopkeeper/create#L14) [^9]: [`objects/oDamsel/create.gml:18`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/create#L18) [^10]: [`objects/oHawkman/create.gml:13`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oHawkman/create#L13) [^11]: [`objects/oYeti/create.gml:12`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oYeti/create#L12) [^12]: [`objects/oCaveman/create.gml:13`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oCaveman/create#L13) [^13]: [`objects/oManTrap/create.gml:12`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oManTrap/create#L12) [^14]: [`objects/oEnemy/create.gml:32`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/create#L32) [^15]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:150-157`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L150-L157) [^16]: [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml:331-338`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step#L331-L338) [^17]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:170-199`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L170-L199) [^18]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^19]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:156`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L156) [^20]: [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml:157`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step#L157) [^21]: [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml:338`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step#L338) [^22]: Clip sacrifice/yeti [^23]: Clip damsel/sacrifice [^24]: Replay `fidelity/replays/item-seed-11-kapala.txt` ### Source code - [`objects/oEnemy/step.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/step) - [`objects/oEnemy/create.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oEnemy/create) - [`objects/oDamsel/step.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/objects/oDamsel/step) - [`scripts/scrGetFavorMsg.gml`](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/source/scripts/scrGetFavorMsg)