E1M9: Domus (HYMN)

E1M9: Domus is the ninth and secret map of HYMN. It was designed by Cacowad.

Essentials
Turn round and push past a sabreclaw to reach a door leading into a blue room; avoid firing your weapons until you get inside that room as it will cause numerous monsters to teleport in and possibly trap you in the starting area. Leave the room by the west doorway and go up the steps on your left to a dining room with golems (and nitrogolems on bringest them oneth (BTO) skill level or higher), then open the stained-glass window in the west wall and carefully step out on to a narrow ledge that runs around the outside of the fortress; move as quickly as possible on this ledge to avoid attacks from the monsters on the surrounding rocks. Follow the ledge south until you drop down to a platform with a switch, press it (it is one of two needed to reach the green key) then use the nearby teleporter to get back to the ledge above. Now follow the ledge north and east until you drop to a platform on the east side of the fortress, press a second switch here then use the teleporter to return to the level above.

Follow the ledge west and open the second stained-glass window on your left to get back inside the fortress, then walk east into a small room containing a Dragon Claw; taking it will summon (depending on skill level) three golems, sabreclaws or undead warriors. Run south through a hallway (containing more undead warriors on BTO or higher) until you go down some stairs to a dark storage room with a Hellstaff, then check the north-west corner to find the yellow key. Press the bookcase to lower it and enter a cave with weredragons and gargoyles (plus undead warrior ghosts on SM or higher), then head west to reach a small island with an Enchanted Shield before going north to find the blue key in a water trench. Go back into the cave and look for a section of gray wall in the south tunnel; you can press this wall to lower it, then ride it up to enter secret #1. Go to the north-east corner of this secret to find a teleporter leading to the green key, along with other items.

Step into the teleporter to go back to the blue room, but be ready to face a crowd of monsters that have teleported in. Get back to the dining room and open the locked door in the south wall to reveal a lift, ride it up to a second door and open that as well to face one to three ophidians; finally, open the stained-glass window in the south wall (using the green key) to reveal a teleporter. This will send you to the south-east corner of the brown rocks surrounding the fortress - fight your way round to the south-west corner, which involves passing two maulotaurs and enter the dark tunnel here to finish the level.

Other points of interest
Various items in the level will cause monsters to teleport in when collected:
 * The Quartz Flask in the middle of the blue room will bring in various monsters, including sabreclaws and ophidians on SM or higher.
 * Taking the Tome of Power in the dining room will send a maulotaur to the blue room.
 * Taking the Chaos Device in the west hallway of the fortress will surround you with (depending on skill level) golems, nitrogolems, undead warriors or ophidians - the Device can be used for a quick escape.

After getting the blue key, climb the steps north of the blue room and open the door at the top to find ophidians guarding Ethereal Arrows, Mace Spheres and possibly a Firemace.

Secrets

 * 1) On the way to the blue key, as you head west, find a gray section of the rock wall and lower it. Ride it up to an area with Timebombs of the Ancients, Quartz Flasks and a Morph Ovum. (sector 711) This secret is esentially mandatory, as you must pass through it to reach the green key.
 * 2) Drop into the lava outside of the fortress and head to the south end, then enter the small cave to find Crystal Vials, a Map Scroll and a Torch. (sector 717)
 * 3) In the south-east cavern of the fortress, take the steps going north, then jump to the wall on the right and hug it as you head right. Press on the metal ridge to open it and find a switch. After using that switch, return to secret #2 and the cave will be extended to the south. Head here to find more Crystal Vials, a Chaos Device and a Ring of Invulnerability (or a Morph Ovum on SM or higher). (sector 745)

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.

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