Kali

Kali was a strange, terrible interloper goddess of both creation and destruction from the Vedic pantheon.

Description
In her avatar form, Kali was a human woman whose body was of a dark skin tone, with voluptuous proportions and four arms. In her true form, these arms each ended in hands with sharp talons, her skin was black as the night, and she stood tall. Her face had three red eyes, was skeletal-like, and had two long fangs.

She typically wore very little clothing other than a skirt made of severed hands and a necklace of skulls around her neck.

Personality
Kali was known to be incredibly ruthless, savage, and hate-filled. However, as a being of contradictions she was also known to be very loving and gentle. She delighted equally in creating and destroying, even things she herself had created, as well as showing other creatures the inherent beauty in both acts. She hoped to one day gain control of all the outer planes.

Abilities
Kali was capable of shape-shifting at will. Most forms she took through this power inspired a great sense of fear in other creatures. Any mortal that kissed her avatar was completely dominated by Kali, no matter their strength of will, and would remain as such until her avatar was destroyed.

She was capable of creating living creatures from inanimate matter.

Combat
Kali typically fought with her clawed hands and a sword. Outside of direct combat, this goddess was known to engage in covert methods of eliminating her opponents, typically strangling them to death from behind with a knotted cord.

Realm
Kali presided over both the 500 and 643 layers of the Abyss. The first was an unnamed layer full of jagged mountains, tropical jungles in which all vegetation was blood-red in hue, a crimson sky devoid of clouds, and an ocean of blood from which sounds of screaming could be constantly heard. Above this ocean and scattered throughout its jungles were numerous portals that connected the realm to other layers of the Abyss. Within this layer lived assassin bugs, elephants, giant centipedes, leucrottas, various types of spiders, spirit nagas, su-monsters, volts, will-o'-wisps, several types of demons (in particular nabassu), as well as a variety of molds and slimes.

Throughout the 500 layer were several deteriorating temples, overgrown with the red vegetation of the realm's jungles. Within each of these temples lived fifty human petitioner monks, who in life had been assassins, and three chaotic evil rakshasas who acted as the senior monks. Outsiders who came upon these temples were welcomed inside and invited to join them in worship of Kali. Those who refused their invitation would be attacked.

Each of these temples contained a treasure trove of magical items. These included potions of climbing, potions of extra-healing, potions of invulnerability, scrolls of protection from illusions, scrolls of protection from plants, scrolls of protection from poison, and scrolls of protection from traps. They also usually held a book of vile darkness, a hat of disguise, a necklace of strangulation, a nine lives stealer, a scarab of death, and swords with a +2 enchantment.

The other layer she resided over was known as the "Caverns of the Skull". They were a series of dark and gloomy, ever-changing caverns of black stone, full of musty air and lit by flickering torches. It was inhabited by petitioners as well as eyewings, fetch, fireshadows, and bloodthirsty xorn. The fanatical petitioners within this layer were trapped within a constant cycle of conflict with each other, fighting to the death and then being reborn to start the cycle anew. When not fighting among themselves, these petitioners chanted day and night, their words echoing through the caverns. Unlike her other layer, those who resided here would outright try to kill any traveler so that their blood could be offered to Kali on altars.

Of all the petitioners within this layer the most powerful were proxies, who acted as guardians of the gates out of her realm. Only by killing them could one activate one of these gates. Rumors alleged that these proxies were brutal murderers in life whose vile acts had managed to impress Kali.

History
Gustofsen Eller, a planar expert renowned in the Realms, spent much of his life trying to curb the activities and worship of Kali after a group of her worshipers from another plane murdered his family. However, his efforts to hurt her were largely ineffective and went unnoticed by the goddess.

Around 1357 DR, Kali began receiving a series of dreams involving a grand and complex ritual, requiring thousands of worshipers participating in a ceremony over the course of a thousand years, that climaxed in her powers being vastly enhanced. Wanting to further witness these visions, but avoid leaving herself vulnerable, she slept within a black crypt beneath the middle of her layer's ocean of blood. While sleeping she would summon worshipers to sacrifice their souls in order to nourish her, with demon servitors snatching those who were reluctant to do so.

Two months following the start of this activity, Gustofsen mistook the lack of her activity on the Prime Material plane as evidence that his efforts had proven successful and he proclaimed to have killed the goddess. An adventuring party was soon assembled in order to accompany him to her layer of the Abyss to verify this claim.

Activities
Kali was known to devour her own children for sustenance and destroy those she wed. On occasion she would send her avatar to the Prime Material plane to help women in childbirth or murderers that were in danger. She was also known to wander across the hill tops of the Lower Planes, performing mesmerizing dances as she reveled in the bloodshed and destruction of the Blood War.

Relationships
Other deities within the Vedic pantheon would readily accept her taking the role of leadership in battles without protest, for they knew her destructiveness was unmatched.

Her prowess in destruction was so great that it inspired fear in even the most horrid of demons and devils.

Worshipers
Kali's cult of worship was known as the Thagna. Its priestly vestments were black robes. They typically fought with clubs, knotted cords, and weapons that did not draw blood. Those who swore to protect the cult fought with an enraged state and were willing to sacrifice themselves so long as it meant that all who opposed her were slain in the process. Her priests had access to spells from the all, charm, combat, creation, healing, and necromantic spheres. In particular the invisibility spell. They were also skilled at hiding in the shadows and moving silently, as if a ranger.

The worship of this goddess required sacrifices of blood and on occasion the sacrifice of an entire human. She was typically worshiped by assassins, as well as prominent and well-respected members of society. The latter would often sneak out under the cover of night and strangle travelers to death with knotted cords in order to prove their devotion.

Beyond the Prime Material plane, Kali was worshipped in the Domains of Dread in the domain of Sri Raji. Besides mortals, some tanar'ri priests pledged themselves to Kali. And she was one of many death gods revered by the Dustmen.

Rumors & Legends
Some believed that she was capable of killing creatures with merely a thought.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Throne of Bloodstone • Tales of the Outer Planes, "The Sea of Screams"