E1M3: Badlands (HYMN)

E1M3: Badlands is the third map of HYMN. It was designed by EvilNed.

Yellow key
Step on both red pads in front of you to lower the bars ahead, then make a running jump to that ledge and carefully drop off the other side to land on a Silver Shield - look ahead at this point to see green and yellow bars that require keys of the same color to open. Head round to the south-west side and climb over some rocks to enter an enclosure with sabreclaws and nitrogolems, then walk through the vines in the south-west corner to enter a tunnel with more sabreclaws. Turn left at the fork and follow the path to a chain switch, which will lower a nearby wall for a few seconds but will release yet more sabreclaws behind you; dispatch them, then pull the chain switch again and take the right-hand path at the fork to get past the wall before it closes. You will be in a large cavern, with the yellow key visible on a platform, but you cannot reach it yet - follow the outside wall past some golems to the archway on the west side and pass through it to enter a second cavern with more golems, then go to the north side and press the face switch here to raise some steps up to the ledge with the weredragon. Press a second switch to your right to lower a lift, then ride this up to a teleporter.

The teleporter will send you to an ice cave with some waiting nitrogolems. Follow the path down to a stone wall and press the skull switch next to the central gate to open it, then destroy the sabreclaws and weredragons waiting behind the wall before entering a second teleporter in the north-west corner to return to the previous cavern. Press the switch in front of you to lower the floor, turn round and walk straight forward to a chain switch - after pulling it, go back to the yellow key cave and head round to the north-east corner, where some bars have lowered allowing you to get back outside. Dispatch any waiting nitrogolems and weredragons, then climb up the stairs here and follow the wall to another chain switch. Pull this switch to lower the platform holding the yellow key, then go back to its cave and step across the platforms in the lava to reach the key.

Green key
Head back to the large building at the center of the map and go to the south-east corner, where you will see a stone bridge leading to a wooden door. Open this door and slay some waiting golems and one or two undead warriors, then step on the lift at the back of the room to go down to a chamber with Ethereal Arrows. Go through the south doorway to a small crossroads and head straight forward into a library with some waiting golems, nitrogolem ghosts and undead warriors, press the skull switch in the west wall then go back to the crossroads where a door has opened to reveal a sabreclaw. Go through the door to confront two more sabreclaws (plus a third that is revealed behind you), then lower the metal lift to reach one of the ledges overlooking the library where some more nitrogolem ghosts have appeared. Step across to the south-west ledge, run along the bookcases against the south wall to reach the other side of the room, then look north and shoot a recessed skull switch to open a chamber in a neighboring room.

Drop to the floor and head east and north into a room with nitrogolems and disciples of D'Sparil, then go inside the small tower in the middle of the room and press the switch inside it to open a door behind you. Follow the river east down some steps to destroy some sabreclaws (including a few that are released behind you), then head east into a cavern with two chain switches; you need to pull the north switch followed by the south switch, which will lower a pair of lifts, then run north into the neighboring cavern to catch the lifts before they rise. Open the door at the top and dispose of a few waiting monsters, then activate the lift in the west wall and kill a waiting disciple before riding it up to the green key. Taking the key will lower the surrounding walls to reveal more disciples, as well as releasing disciples into the starting area.

Exit
With both keys, go back to the colored bars north of the starting point and open the doors on either side to reveal switches that will lower these bars; watch out for a golem hiding behind the green key door. Behind the bars is a large room with one to three iron liches and some ophidians - use the Tome of Power and Quivers of Ethereal Arrows in the water pool to help get rid of them, then go to the bottom of each set of steps to find two buttons, each of which will lower the nearby block to reveal an iron lich protecting a skull switch. After pressing both skull switches, go to the top of the steps where some bars have lowered allowing you to reach the blue exit switch.

Other points of interest
Inside the yellow key cave are some steps leading down to a skull switch. Press it to lower some rocks to the east, which hold a Silver Shield and two Crystal Vials, to reveal an alcove with three disciples, a Quiver of Ethereal Arrows and two Timebombs of the Ancients. Be careful stepping inside the cache as it is easy to become trapped (see Bugs).

In the ice cave, walk west from the gate past some Ethereal Arrows to find a hidden chain switch. This will lower an ice block holding two Timebombs.

In the library, press the skull switch by the south-west ledge to lower a nearby bookcase, revealing a nitrogolem ghost protecting a Map Scroll.

In the room before the green key, go to the platform in the north-west corner to collect an Enchanted Shield and a Crystal Vial. Stepping on the platform will release a sabreclaw next to you.

Secrets

 * 1) Enter the building south-west of the starting point, then go through the mural on the south wall to find Greater Runes and two Quartz Flasks. (sector 98)
 * 2) In secret #1, enter the teleporter to the south to get to a secret area with a Hellstaff, Lesser Runes, a Ring of Invulnerability and a Crystal Vial. (sector 62) You will also release sabreclaws to the north-east, and their closet contains Ethereal Arrows.
 * 3) In the closet with sabreclaws accessible from secret #2, press on the north-west wall to find a passage leading to Crystal Vials and a teleporter taking you back to the starting point. (sector 167)
 * 4) At the west caves, you will notice a big wall to the north. You need to climb this wall from the opposite side, then jump down at the south-west end, where you will find a switch. This will lower a rock to the south of the wall, which you can ride up to get a Tome of Power. (sector 466)
 * 5) In the south-east part of the map in the library, go through the bookshelf near the north entrance to get Gauntlets of the Necromancer. (sector 567)

Bugs
Pressing the skull switch in the yellow key cave will lower some rocks to reveal a cache with disciples, Timebombs and a Quiver of Ethereal Arrows. If you go inside the cache and the rocks rise behind you, then you will be trapped inside it; the linedefs that make up the step below this cache (linedefs 2687, 2688, 2689 and 3575) are set to lower the rocks again when pressed, but they cannot be activated from inside the cache as the linedefs face the wrong way. Additionally, they have no lower textures, resulting in a minor hall of mirrors effect when the rocks are lowered.

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The (absence of) data was last verified in its entirety on February 21, 2022.

Player spawns
This level contains eleven spawn points:
 * 1) facing north-east. (thing 156)
 * 2) facing north-east. (thing 157)
 * 3) facing north-west. (thing 159)
 * 4) facing north-west. (thing 160)
 * 5) facing south-west. (thing 162)
 * 6) facing north-east. (thing 163)
 * 7) facing north-east. (thing 164)
 * 8) facing west. (thing 167)
 * 9) facing west. (thing 169)
 * 10) facing east. (thing 171)
 * 11) facing south-east. (thing 176)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: