Hub 2: Hypostyle

Hypostyle is the final map of the second hub of Hexen, Shadow Wood. The player must defeat the Death Wyvern in order to progress to the third hub.

''Locked away, a siege beast, slumbering for ages, has awoken. The four points of the star must be conquered before winged death can be confronted.''

Essentials
This map consists of a centre room whose roof is supported by many pillars (that being what "hypostyle" means), and four additional rooms to the north, east, south and west. The order in which these rooms are visited is random each game, as designated by the star in the centre of the room. Each of these rooms will push you right inside as soon as you enter them. The doors will also close to prevent you from escaping. Once all of the rooms have been completed, the path to the Death Wyvern is opened.

You start at the southern end of the pillar hall. There are 17 Ettins there (twenty on the three hardest skill levels) that are alerted as soon as they see you or have heard you using a weapon. One of the monsters is specific, as its death opens the first one of the four doors. The monster starts near the star, at about four o'clock of it. Anyhow, you may want to slay all the Ettins before you visit the new area so that they will not bother you later.

North room
This room features a number of circular crushing posts and also a group of Centaurs. You must kill a specific centaur, initially the one between the crushers on the right, to open a corridor west of the room. When you press a switch in the corridor, four Centaurs will teleport into the room, and an identical passage will open at the opposite side. That one also has a switch. As you activate it, yet another team of four Centaurs will appear. In addition, a third switch will become uncovered north of the room. It will complete the puzzle, and by the moment you have pressed it, the hall door has also opened again. If you are the Cleric, the second piece of the Wraithverge is found here in single player.

East room
This room is fairly straight-forward. The puzzle switch you need to activate is at the far end of the room, up the stairs. About seven seconds (256 tics) after entering the room, six pillars will lower releasing Ettins. At the same time, a switch in front of the hall door will raise. You can use it to reopen the door. For those who play as the Fighter, the second piece of the Quietus is found here in single player.

South room
When you enter the room, activate the switch to the left. This will raise the bridge over the lava, and change the texture of the water pool to your right to a symbol. Take note of what this symbol is. Be careful when crossing the bridge - if you fall off, you will activate the projectile launching faces on the walls. Once you reach the other side, you will be presented with three symbols on the wall. To complete the puzzle, activate the one that matches to the one on the floor on the other side of the bridge. If you select a wrong one, the trap will be activated and you will be teleported back to the other side. The hall door will open again when you have hit the right symbol.

West room
This room is straight-forward as well. When you enter, the posts in the lava will start moving up and down. You need to time your jumps carefully to reach the switch at the other end of the room. Press the switch to complete the puzzle and reopen the hall door. In case you are the Mage, the second piece of the Bloodscourge is found here in single player.

Final room
Once you have completed the four rooms listed above, two doors will open to the south-west and south-east of the central pillar hall. These lead south to a cave where the player will encounter the Death Wyvern. For tactical information about this foe, check his page.

Once the Death Wyvern is dead, the pillars blocking the second portal in the pillar hall will open, allowing the player to exit the hub.

Bugs
If the player enters the north room while the centaur leaves (or is teleported outside), the player cannot open either the exit door or the west wall to continue play. The game is blocked without use of a chaos device.