E3M4: The Herakleion (Curse of D'Sparil)

E3M4: The Herakleion is the fourth map of Curse of D'Sparil. It was designed by Kristian Käll (Kristus) and uses the music track from Heretic's E2M8: The Portals of Chaos.

This level is an alternate version of E3M4P: The Herakleion designed for use with Heretic-plus. Players using this executable or a source port that does not support MAPINFO will be sent here after completing E3M3: The Order's Chaos.

This level contains a secret exit to E3M9: The Brother's Onslaught.

Essentials
On hard skill levels, all gargoyles will be replaced with fire gargoyles.

Head forward through the arch (collecting a Bag of Holding as you do so) to an area overlooked by numerous gargoyles, then turn left to walk between two fenced towers. The area ahead is guarded by a maulotaur; depending on how much ammo you have, you may wish to avoid it and go to the mossy ledge by the south wall, where you will find Gauntlets of the Necromancer next to a switch. Pressing the switch will lower two walls to the north, revealing a staircase leading up to a Silver Shield. Climb to the top to see two ledges ahead which will be guarded by golems, nitrogolems and undead warriors depending on skill level. Kill these monsters then run north across both ledges to a wall with an Energy Orb and a Crystal Geode. Turn left here and open the wooden door, where a Mystic Urn and a Quiver of Ethereal Arrows are guarded by more monsters.

Drop off the ledge to the floor below, then turn right and right again to find a passage guarded by three golems as well as sabreclaws. Kill them and head east through another door, then go through the doorway on your left to get outside. This area is protected by a large number of monsters - weredragons to the north-west, many gargoyles from the west, north and south-east, as well as undead warriors on the walls to the north and east. As soon as you go through the doorway, head due east to a broken walkway with an Enchanted Shield then climb up the small structure in front of you to find another switch. This will open the large wooden doors in front of you, which are guarded by two maulotaurs.

Exit
Go through the large doors and take the Silver Shield if you need it. There are two red lines on the floor which you can follow to the exit area - the line going north is arguably a safer route as it is shorter and only includes a maulotaur on medium and hard, while the line going east includes a maulotaur on all skill levels. In either case, you will eventually reach a stepped room with a Hellstaff in the center, which is guarded by another maulotaur to the north. Use your new weapon to kill it, then go to the south side of the room to find a switch in front of an exit door.

Pressing the switch will reveal four more switches elsewhere in the building, which must all be pressed to open the exit. Blue lines on the floor will help guide you to each switch, but watch out for monsters teleporting in after you press each one - these will include disciples of D'Sparil, ophidians, nitrogolems, undead warriors and iron liches.
 * Leave the stepped room by the west doorway and head west until you reach a T-junction, then turn right. Follow the blue line to switch #1 which is guarded by two to four disciples.
 * Return to the T-junction and head south, following the red line until you see a set of steps on your left. Climb these steps and you will see another blue line on the right - follow it to switch #2 which is guarded by more disciples.
 * Turn round and head east down a set of steps to another blue line, and follow it down to the bottom of a staircase where a maulotaur will be waiting if you have not killed it already. Head east through a stone door to find a teleporter, which will send you to a large hall protected by disciples and gargoyles. Climb the steps and go through either archway in the north-east or south-east corners, climbing up two sets of stairs to find more disciples. Go round the corner and destroy any waiting sabreclaws, then head west down another staircase to a ledge overlooking the main hall. Switch #3 is at the end of this ledge, next to an Enchanted Shield.
 * Leave the hall by going back through the teleporter, then follow the red line on the floor north (you will be ambushed by sabreclaws if you have not used this route already). As the red line turns west towards the exit area, you will see a blue line heading north up a staircase. At the top of the stairs are disciples guarding a teleporter, which will send you to a small passage containing disciples and ophidians, plus iron liches on medium or hard skill levels. At the east end of the passage you will find switch #4, along with another Enchanted Shield and (on easy or medium) a Morph Ovum.

After pressing switch #4, return to the exit door to find that it is now open. Go through and press the blue switch to finish the level and proceed to E3M5: The River of Ladon.

Secret exit
After pressing all four switches to open the exit, follow the directions below for secret #7 to obtain the green key, then use secret #8 to reach a passage with a green line on the floor. Follow this line past a number of gargoyles until you reach another teleporter which will send you to a large circular chamber.

The outer area is guarded by disciples and sabreclaws, while the inner area is protected by two to four iron liches and a number of gargoyles. Go to the south side of the inner area to find a stone door between two green key gizmos and open it, revealing two to four disciples guarding a switch. Press the switch to lower a teleporter in the middle of the chamber, which will take you to E3M9: The Brother's Onslaught.

Other points of interest
As the level starts, head west to find a cave guarded by several gargoyles. Pass these monsters to find a Dragon Claw and four Energy Orbs.

After going through the arch in front of you at the start of the level, turn left to see an Ethereal Crossbow at the top of the stairs. After picking it up, turn left to find a Chaos Device and right to find a Wings of Wrath artifact - the latter item is needed to reach secrets #2 and #3.

After pressing the switch next to the Gauntlets of the Necromancer, climb up the staircase that is revealed then walk north until you drop into a trench. Turn left to destroy two sabreclaws, then climb the steps behind them and turn right and right again. Ahead is a door guarded by one or two undead warriors, and behind it are one to three disciples guarding a Shadowsphere, a Quiver of Ethereal Arrows and an Energy Orb.

Before going down the staircase leading to the broken walkway area, look south-east to find a set of steps leading to a Morph Ovum.

After using the teleporter to reach secret #5, leave the room you teleport into and follow the wall you are standing on to a Mystic Urn.

Secrets

 * 1) As the level starts, head south until you reach the vine-covered wall then follow it east to a map scroll. (sector 613)
 * 2) After going through the arch in front of you at the start of the level, you will see a cross-shaped scaffold in front of you. East of this scaffold is a raised area that can be reached using the Wings of Wrath, and contains three Morph Ovums. (sector 122)
 * 3) South-west of the area where you encounter the first maulotaur are a set of tall steps that require the Wings of Wrath to scale. After flying over the steps, follow the path north and west (collecting several Timebombs of the Ancients on the way) to a structure containing a Ring of Invincibility. (sector 119)
 * 4) After reaching the open area with the broken walkway, head to the south-east corner to find a wood and brick structure. Climb the staircase inside it and open the door at the top to get on to the east wall. Turn left and head forward until you reach the first part of the wall that juts out, then open the moss wall due east of this point to reveal a teleporter. Step into this to reach a fenced area near the start point, which holds a Hellstaff, a Tome of Power and a Mystic Urn. (sector 670)
 * 5) From the open area with the broken walkway, head to the north-west corner to find a brown path where a number of weredragons will emerge from. Follow this path into a cave containing a lava pool, then run through the lava to a teleporter inside a stone structure. You will find yourself in a small room - leave the room to find yourself in a gated area east of the start point, then head south until you find a dark area with a low ceiling that contains three Quartz Flasks. (sector 986)
 * 6) From secret #5, head north-east and climb some steps to another teleporter which will send you to a hidden area of the structure north of the start point. (sector 990) Take the Tome of Power in this area, then press the switch to open two walls to the north so you can return to the main level.
 * 7) After passing through the large doors guarded by maulotaurs, you will see two red lines on the floor. Follow the line going east until you reach a narrow passage containing a Quartz Flask, which will open the walls on either side and release sabreclaws when approached. After destroying these monsters, look at the west wall to see a blue banner and open it. (sector 878) The teleporter behind this wall will send you to a ledge holding the green key.
 * 8) Using the teleporter behind secret #8 will bring you to a passage with a green line on the floor; following this line will lead you to another teleporter that will send you to a large circular area containing the secret exit; the teleporter pad you land on counts as a secret. (sector 962)

Bugs
Two teleport lines in secret #6 (linedefs 5221 and 5222) do not function, as they are set to tag 33 and there is no sector in the level with that tag.

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 December 12, 2021.

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

Technical information
The large doors leading to the latter part of the level appear to swing open slowly when triggered. This is controlled by a voodoo doll which triggers a series of "Floor Lower" actions.

Trivia

 * Much of the eastern side of the level is hidden from the automap. This may have been done to increase the degree of challenge in navigating that area, and to force players to rely on the colored lines for navigation.