Vessel of Kulemak — the Invitation, the Black Cathedral, and Stealing Lich Power
Vessel of Kulemak is the Abyss pinnacle boss. It’s been around since 0.3, making it older than the bosses introduced in 0.5, and it’s still being expanded.
What makes it interesting is that the decisions start after you kill it. You choose whether to stop there or revive it stronger, which means the size of your reward is up to your own judgement.
If you haven’t read it yet, Pinnacle Bosses covers the overall 0.5 structure.
Getting in
The verifiable facts are simple:
- The boss is located in The Black Cathedral.
- You need a Kulemak’s Invitation to begin the encounter.
The Invitation carries just one line:
Something awaits you in the Well.
Unlike other key items, it has no “use this here” instruction line.
The wiki does not state where the Invitation drops, how many you need, or whether it’s consumed. This page will be updated when that’s confirmed.
The core loop — the choice after each kill
This is what defines the encounter. Each time you bring the boss down, you pick one of two options.
| Choice | Result |
|---|---|
| Take the Finger | Ends the encounter and you collect your rewards |
| Steal a Lich’s Power | The boss revives, stronger |
Stealing power grows your reward. The arena holds petrified statues of three Liches — Amanamu, Kurgal, and Ulaman — and you interact with one to take its power. You can do this up to three times, and the combinations come in three fixed sets in random order. They are only statues inside the arena, so you don’t need to kill the three Liches beforehand — they aren’t an access prerequisite.
Every steal adds one desecrated modifier to Grip of Kulemak, the guaranteed drop — though the modifier is added unrevealed.
Once you’ve stolen three times, the fourth option becomes “Return the Finger.” Take it and the boss revives at full power, with its level rising to 80–82.
In short, you decide how many rounds to sign up for. Stop after the first kill if you’re not confident, or keep reviving it if you want to build the ring.
Rewards
Grip of Kulemak always drops. It’s an Abyssal Signet ring, and it can carry up to 4 desecrated modifiers through the process above. Building this ring is effectively the reason to repeat the encounter.
Alongside it, you get one of:
- The Unborn Lich — staff
- Darkness Enthroned — belt
- Undying Hate — Timeless Jewel
- The Master’s Tether
A support gem, Tecrod’s Revenge, can also drop.
0.5.3 added a chance to drop Ancient Jawbones, Ancient Ribs, and Ancient Collarbones, along with 13 new Abyssal Wasting modifiers for Grip of Kulemak.
Modifiers and values for each item are on the equipment pages.
For reference, the wiki does publish drop rates, but they’re community estimates from a 200-sample set, and the wiki itself flags the Drops section as needing an update. That’s why no percentages are reproduced here.
Preparation
- Decide in advance where you’ll stop. Each steal improves the ring but strengthens the boss. Push too far and fail, and you lose that run’s rewards entirely.
- Treat the fully-empowered version as a separate fight. Its level rises to 80–82.
- The Abyss mechanic itself is covered in Six Map Mechanics.
- For defensive fundamentals, see The Basics.