MAP09: Realm of the Iconoclast (Threshold of Pain)

MAP09: Realm of the Iconoclast is the ninth map of Threshold of Pain. It was designed by John Gourley (scalliano) and uses the music track "Lamentation," composed by Aubrey Hodges for the Sony PlayStation port of Doom. The par time defined in MAPINFO is 60:00.

Essentials
Follow the path, which is overlooked by imps, south and east until you reach an open area with a rocket launcher. Dispatch the enemies on the ledges overlooking this area (joined by barons on HMP or higher), then go through the door on the north wall of the brick building. Kill one or two Unmaker zombies waiting behind the door on HMP or higher, then turn right and ride the lift up to a fenced ledge that held plasma zombies and imps. Follow the ledge to a skull switch and press it, then return to ground level and go through another door that has just opened in the building's west wall.

Follow the passage past demons and nightmare spectres to a door guarded by one or two afrits, behind which is a lava pit with two doors marked I and II. Jump across to the door marked I and go through it to an octagonal room guarded by nightmare imps. Follow the room round to a red skull switch guarded by one or two revenants and press it, then return to the lava pit and jump north to the door marked II which has now opened. Enter another octagonal room guarded by nightmare spectres and head round to a second skull switch guarded by an arch-vile; after pressing the switch, return to the lava area and jump north past some bars which have now lowered.

Open the door and kill the mancubus waiting behind it on HMP or higher, then step through to a large cavern with a set of steps running round its perimeter. The steps are guarded by zombies and overlooked by imps and nightmare imps, and one or two Lords of Heresy are waiting at the west end of the cavern; due to the lack of cover, keep moving and use rapid-fire weapons like the plasma gun to pick monsters off from a distance. When you get to the top, head north through a door and kill the nightmare imps that fade in, then press the switch in the north-west corner and step into the teleporter next to it.

You will be returned to the hall with the cross-shaped floor. Head through the east door in front of you, where you will see that the blue key can now be taken. Taking the key causes one or two bruiser demons to appear in the cross-shaped room; a wall in the north-east corner of the central area will also open and release a number of cacodemons, nightmare cacodemons and pain elementals.

Yellow key
Climb the steps north of the central building and go through the door at the top to enter a red brick building - the yellow skull key is through a doorway ahead blocked by metal bars. Kill the demons in this area (joined by nightmare spectres on HMP or higher) and ride either of the metal platforms up to ledges guarded by nightmare imps. Press either of the switches on the south wall to open the doors below, then step through these doors before they close to reach a hallway with a gray floor.

Follow the hallway north past several enemies to a door guarded by an afrit, behind which is a T-shaped corridor with three doors marked I, II and III. Go through the west door marked I and follow a red tunnel past shotgun guys and revenants to a larger cavern with a central platform guarded by one or two barons; there is also a walkway running round the wall of the cavern which is populated by imps. Press the skull switch next to the barons, then return to the tunnel where three lords have appeared. Kill all of them then return to the T-shaped corridor and head through the east door marked II.

Kill the two mancubi waiting around the corner, then go through the door behind them and kill the chaingunners, plasma zombies and Unmaker zombies blocking your way up the steps. At the top you will enter a fenced area with one or two mancubi and arachnotrons, with a caged lord and knights outside the fences. Follow the path to a skull switch and press it, then fight your way back to the door marked II while fighting off cacodemons, two barons and a lord. Back in the T-shaped corridor, go through the north door marked III and follow the tunnel past imps and nightmare imps to an outdoor area.

Use the marble walls in this area to give you cover from the nightmare imps, hectebi and lord in this area, then head to the north-east corner to confront a spiderdemon. Killing the spider will lower a set of bars by the north wall, allowing you to press the skull switch behind them. Return to the door you used to enter the north section of this level to find that the bars blocking the north doorway have opened, allowing you to take the yellow skull key which is sitting on a plinth. Taking the yellow key lowers two walls that conceal lords, and causes a number of barons to spawn in the central area.

Red key
Climb the structure west of the central building and go through the door to a room with a walkway over a pit; there are three doors leading away from this area, and the west door will lead you to the red skull key once you have made it reachable. Kill the zombiemen and shotgun guys on the walkway along with the imps on the surrounding ledges, then go down the steps and leave the room by the south door. You will enter a room with several red walls which is overlooked by nightmare imps; there are also two to four Unmaker zombies hiding between the walls.

As soon as you enter the room, follow the east wall until you reach the south-east corner of the room them kill the zombie here and press the skull switch behind it. This will open a door in the north-east corner - go through it before it shuts and climb the rocky steps outside past spectres, imps and one or two mancubi until you reach another door at the top. Go through the door and take the rocket launcher behind it, then kill one or two revenants at the top of the steps ahead before going round the corner to slay one or two lords.

Go through the door behind the lords to enter a rectangular room with a gargoyle switch in the middle - do not press it immediately as there is an arch-vile waiting at the north end of the room, or two on Ultra-Violence (UV) and Nightmare (NM) skill levels. Kill these enemies then press the gargoyle switch to open a door to the east, which leads to a ledge overlooking the area with red walls. Head north to another door and go through it to a walkway - kill the imps that appear in front of you and follow the walkway to a lion switch, press it and step on the teleporter behind it to return to the room with three doors.

You are halfway to getting the red skull key. Kill the knights which have appeared nearby then climb the stairs and go through the north door to an outdoor area guarded by spectres, with ledges on either side holding imps and nightmare imps; as you pass under the metal girders in this area, the ledges behind you will lower to release more monsters. The first pair of ledges hide three knights each, the second pair of ledges hide three barons each, and the third pair of ledges hide two lords and a hectebus, plus two mancubi on HMP or higher.

Once the hectebus is dead, the north-west door will open. Go through it to a T-shaped corridor with three doors marked I, II and III; turn right and head to the junction, then step back and wait for some plasma and Unmaker zombies to come to you so you can pick them off without being surrounded. Go back to the junction and turn right then pass through the door marked I to enter a square room guarded by demons, joined by nightmare spectres on HMP or higher. Head round the lava pit to its north-east side and press the skull switch here - this will allow you to reach a second switch in the middle of the room, but also opens to alcoves containing shotgun guys and plasma zombies.

Kill these latest enemies and go round to the west side of the room, where a bridge leading to the central platform has been raised. Cross it and press the skull switch in the fenced area, then go back through the door to the T-shaped corridor where several alcoves containing cacodemons, nightmare cacodemons and a pain elemental have opened. Head west and go through the now-open door marked II to a room with a number of twisting passages guarded by imps. Turn right and follow the passage to the wall, then turn left to see a cyberdemon ahead; try to keep it in view as it is easy to walk into an ambush in this room.

Once the cyberdemon is dead, go to the north side of the room where some bars have lowered and press the skull switch behind them. Go back to the T-shaped corridor to find that five more alcoves have opened containing afrits (three of them are replaced with cacodemons on I am a Wimp (IAAW) and Not Too Rough (NTR) skill levels), then head south through the door marked III and head down the steps to another walkway. Follow it round, killing the imps that appear, and press the lion switch at the end before stepping into the teleporter to return to the room with three doors.

Kill two more knights then head forward through the west door and kill the spectres waiting behind it, then collect the super shotgun and go west through another door to a room with an octagonal walkway. Head forward and take the red skull key sitting on a step in the middle of the room - this will raise a set of bars to trap you on the middle platform, and a number of knights will appear on the octagonal walkway. Killing the knights will cause two to four lords to appear on the middle platform around you - once they are dead, the bars will lower so you can escape. When you return to the central area you will find that a cavern containing mancubi and arachnotrons has opened in the south-west corner.

Exit
Once you have all three keys, return to the central area to find that two large caverns have opened - the north-west cavern contains imps, nightmare imps and a spiderdemon, while the south-east cavern contains zombies and a cyberdemon. Once both the cyberdemon and spiderdemon have been killed, you will be able to go inside the central building which is guarded by imps.

Inside the building are four doors, three of which require the skull keys you have collected. Go through each door in turn and press the skull switches behind them, watching out for one or two Unmaker zombies that appear to defend each switch. Once the final switch is pressed, the bars in the center of the building will open so you can step on the teleporter behind them and finally finish this level.

Other points of interest
In the south-west corner of the central area is a dark recess. Open the wall in this recess to reveal a teleporter, which will put you on top of a nearby red rock holding a soulsphere and a minigun.

In the north section of the level, pass through the door marked I and follow the red tunnel behind it. Just before you reach the large cavern, look at the right-hand wall to see a recess; open this recess to get on to the walkway running round the cavern. Follow it to the end to find a soulsphere and a megaarmor.

Secrets

 * 1) There are two switches hidden in the central area which can be activated by shooting them, the first switch is hidden in a metal pillar north of the west door to the central building and is revealed when you approach the marble column north-east of the door to the west section of the level, while the second switch is hidden in a metal pillar east of the door leading to the north section of the level and is revealed when you climb to the top of some red rocks east of this pillar. A third switch is hidden above the doorway leading to the yellow skull key, and is revealed when you step off the west platform in this room. Shooting all three switches will reveal a cavern in the south-east corner of the central area containing an Unmaker, a megasphere and two demonic orbs. (sector 371)
 * 2) Step into the teleporter in secret #1 to enter an enclosed marble hall. (sector 384) This hall includes a battle with several waves of monsters ending with two cyberdemons; when they are dead, a pillar in the middle of the chamber holding a Chi Gem will lower. This item enhances the Unmaker to fire railgun-like shots, and continuously replenishes the Unmaker's ammo when it is not being fired.
 * 3) Once you have cleared all the enemies in secret #2, enter the alcove in the north side of the west wall that previously held cacodemons and nightmare cacodemons. Part of the back wall is slightly misaligned - open it to find a passage leading to a silver platform with five powerups that will give you 200% health and armor and the maximum number of bullets, shells, rockets and cells. (sector 432)
 * 4) The south-east area of the level has an outdoor section with two doors. Go through the north-east door and follow the passage to a skull switch. Part of the wall east of this switch is slightly misaligned - open it to reveal a soulsphere and two boxes of rockets. (sector 484)
 * 5) The south-east area of the level has a lava pit with two platforms marked I and II. Drop into the lava and step into a tunnel in the south-east corner to find a Doomsphere. (sector 614)
 * 6) From secret #5, head back up to the platforms and jump north to the ledge on the opposite side of the lava pit, then go through the door to a cavern with a set of steps around another lava pool. Drop into the lava and head into a small tunnel in the south wall of the cavern, which will lead you to a BFG9000 and a megaarmor. (sector 606)
 * 7) In the east area of the level, drop into the lava pool with the two red platforms then enter the alcove in the south wall to find a minigun and two boxes of bullets. (sector 693)
 * 8) From secret #7, teleport back up to ground level then head through the east door to a hall with doors marked I and II. Open the gray demon-face wall south of the door marked II to reveal a soulsphere and two boxes of rockets. (sector 723)
 * 9) In the south-west area of the level, after reaching the ledge overlooking the room with red walls go to the north end of this ledge to find an energy cell pack and a box of rockets next to a green firestick. Open the north-east wall to reveal a crawlspace leading to a BFG9000. (sector 1469)
 * 10) From secret #9, go back to the ledge and jump east to land on one of the red walls. From here you can jump south-east across the walls to reach a soulsphere and a megaarmor. (sector 1271)
 * 11) In the north-west area of the level, after reaching the T-shaped corridor with the numbered doors go to the door marked I and look at the south wall which has four recesses in it. Open the middle part of this wall to find a chamber containing a minigun and a Doomsphere. (sector 1501)
 * 12) From secret #11, head west and go through the door marked II to a chamber containing a cyberdemon. Go to the south-east corner of this room then look west at a wall next to two boxes of shotgun shells. You can open part of the wall next to the boxes to reveal a megasphere. (sector 1568)

Bugs
Two cacodemons (Things 2181 and 2183) in alcoves surrounding a northern Lord of Heresy have no flags set for any of the three difficulty classes, so they do not actually appear in the level.

Current records
The records for the map at the Doomed Speed Demos Archive are:

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level, not including monsters spawned via scripts: