Goddess, Kalma

Kalma is a goddess of death and decay, worshipped in Finland. She is known as “The Stench of Corpses” and her presence is often accompanied by a foul odor.

• Pantheon: Finnish Mythology
• Deity Title: “The Stench of Corpses”
• Deity Symbol: A skull wreathed in noxious green smoke
• Home Plane: Underworld/Tuonela (Finnish mythology)
• Deity Level: Intermediate deity
• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Aliases: Lady of Decay, Mistress of Death, Queen of the Dead
• Superior: None
• Traditional Allies: Kipu-Tyttö, Kivutar, Loviatar, Vammatar, Tuoni, Tuonetar (Finnish deities)
• Traditional Foes:
• Divine Artifact: Staff of Decay, a blackened and twisted rod that exudes a putrid odor
• Servants: Necromancers, undead minions
• Servitor Creatures: Ghouls, zombie hounds
• Sacred Animal: Raven
• Manifestations: Sudden wafts of noxious smoke, the sound of bones cracking, the stench of decay
• Signs of Favor: The presence of undead creatures, the scent of decay
• Worshipers: Necromancers, cultists, those who revel in death and decay
• Cleric Alignments: Any Evil
• Specialty Priests: Deathbringers, Necromancers, Gravekeepers
• Holy Days: The Night of the Dead (a festival held during the winter solstice)
• Portfolio: Death, Decay, Undead, Necromancy, Pestilence
• Domains: Death, Evil, Necromancy, Plague, Decay
• Favored Weapon: Scythe
• Favored Class: Cleric
• Favored Race: Humans, Half-Orcs, Tieflings
• Duties of the Priesthood: Raise undead minions, spread disease and decay, perform funerary rites, study the dark arts of necromancy
• Major Cult/Temple Sites: The Catacombs of Despair (a vast underground labyrinth filled with the undead), The House of Death (a crumbling mansion filled with ancient tomes of necromancy)
• Benefits: Access to powerful necromantic spells, the ability to summon undead minions, resistance to disease and poison.

Kalma’s origins are shrouded in mystery. She is said to be the daughter of Tuoni and Tuonetar, the rulers of the Finnish underworld, but her exact relationship with them is unknown. Some stories describe her as their offspring, while others depict her as a being of equal power, one of the rulers of the underworld alongside her parents.

Kalma is a solitary figure, often wandering through graveyards and cemeteries, accompanied only by her faithful companion, Surma, a giant demonic dog with a snake-tail. She is fascinated by the process of decay and takes pleasure in the destruction and transformation of living things into undead. Her domain includes not only death and decay but also the undead, who she views as beautiful in their own grotesque way.

While some view Kalma as a malevolent force, her worshippers see her as a necessary part of the cycle of life and death. They believe that the decay and destruction she represents are essential for new life to emerge. Her followers are typically necromancers, those who seek to control the forces of death and use them for their own purposes.

Kalma has a complicated relationship with other deities, and her allies and foes are often in flux. She is sometimes allied with other underworld gods and goddesses, such as Kipu-Tyttö, Kivutar, Loviatar, and Vammatar, but she also has been known to work with other dark deities. She is opposed to deities who represent life, renewal, and fertility.

Kalma is a towering and imposing figure, with a skeletal frame and skin stretched tight over her bones. Her hair is long and lank, hanging in clumps around her face, and her eyes are deep-set and sunken. Her skin is a sickly grey-green, and she exudes a foul odor that clings to her like a miasma.

Kalma is often shrouded in a cloud of noxious smoke, which seems to emanate from her very pores. She moves with an unnatural grace, gliding along the ground with almost no discernible movement of her limbs. Despite her emaciated frame, there is a sense of terrible power that emanates from her, a primal force that speaks to the inevitability of death and decay.

At her side is Surma, her faithful hound, a towering beast with eyes like burning coals and teeth like knives. Surma’s fur is a deep, oily black, and seems to absorb the light around it. When he barks, it sounds like the crack of thunder, and those who hear it often find themselves paralyzed with fear.

Kalma is a figure to be feared and respected, a symbol of the ultimate end that awaits us all.

Kalma’s ultimate goal is unclear, as she seems to be content in her role as a goddess of death and decay. She seeks to maintain the balance between life and death, and her actions reflect this desire. She is often depicted as enigmatic and unpredictable, with her motivations remaining a mystery even to her most devoted followers.