E2M5: The Catacombs (Heretic)

E2M5: The Catacombs is the fifth level in the Hell's Maw episode of Heretic. It uses the music track "Elf", created by Kevin Schilder.

Essentials
Go up the steps in front of you to a junction, take the Dragon Claw here if needed then go west up some more stairs, passing a few gargoyles, until you get to the top where you can run east to land on a pole with the yellow key on it. Go back to the junction and take the east staircase this time; when you reach the top, follow the flowing river down two levels to find a yellow key door which is protected by a few more gargoyles. Go through the door to reach a ledge overlooking a platform with the blue key on it, then turn right and press a switch; having done so, go back through the yellow key door then pass through a second door that has opened on your right, before dropping into a cavern with a single gargoyle.

Collect the items then walk towards the south wall - the east and west walls will lower to reveal more gargoyles along with sabreclaws. Collect a Silver Shield by the north wall, then go through the now-open south wall and follow the river until you drop into a wide hall with an iron lich. Go to the horse mural on the west wall and step round it to find some steps leading up to a door, open it and head past a gargoyle to enter a tunnel with a number of sabreclaws. Follow the tunnel north until you see an opening in the wall on your right, go through it then head east and south to find a Mystic Urn in front of a switch; the switch will raise some stairs leading up to the blue key. Go round to the south-west corner of the room and step on the gray pillar that lowers nearby; once it rises, look east to see the green key being guarded by gargoyles.

Go back to the tunnel and open the green key door at the north end, then head east to a chamber with gargoyles and one or two weredragons. Open the door in the south-east corner to find the stairs you raised earlier and climb them to get to the blue key, then go back to the previous chamber and open the south-west door next to the blue gizmo. Follow a hallway past one or two sabreclaws to the exit door, and open it to confront a disciple of D'Sparil which is protecting the exit teleporter.

Other points of interest
From the start, head up the east staircase. When you get to the top, look for a switch on the west wall that will lower the nearby river, revealing a stone chamber with several items including a Bag of Holding; if you open the rock wall in the north-west corner you can reach a ledge with Gauntlets of the Necromancer. You can also reach this ledge by using the teleporter behind the blue key platform.

Secrets

 * 1) From the ledge behind the yellow key door, drop into the magma below then run to the south-west corner to find an opening in the wall. Go through and look south-west to get a Ring of Invulnerability, then proceed east to reach a ledge with a Hellstaff as well as (depending on skill level) Lesser and/or Greater Runes. (sector 25) The teleporter here will return you to the start of the level.
 * 2) Just before you drop into the water-filled hall on the south side of the map, you may see a switch on the north wall. Press this switch to lower a number of teleporters inside the hall, then enter any of them before they rise again to get to the ledge on the north side of the hall. You can walk east from here to enter a room with three stacks of Mace Spheres, a Tome of Power and one or two Quartz Flasks. (sector 140) Opening the door at the north end of the chamber will put you next to the green key.
 * 3) Go through the green key door then head round the corner to see some murals of robed figures on either side of the steps. The center mural on the south wall has a blinking light; open it to find an Inferno Orb. (sector 206) Entering this secret will open the other murals, revealing sabreclaws (and a weredragon on thou art a smite-meister and black plague possesses thee) guarding two Crystal Vials, a Map Scroll and a Morph Ovum.
 * 4) From secret #3, continue east to the chamber with the large orange steps then open the mural with the robed figure in the north-east corner to find a teleporter. The teleporter will take you to a Phoenix Rod and an Enchanted Shield. (sector 87)
 * 5) From the blue key platform, run north-west to leap into a niche containing two gargoyles as well as a stack of Mace Spheres (two on bringest them oneth skill level or lower), one Pile of Mace Spheres and a Wings of Wrath. (sector 32)
 * 6) Return to the start of the level after getting the green key, then head up to the top of the east staircase and follow the water down to the floor below. The silver door here has opened, revealing a staircase guarded by weredragons that leads down to the Tome of Power. Continue east into the neighboring chamber to find a Chaos Device and Greater Runes, along with a Flame Orb and an Inferno Orb (or three Flame Orbs on bringest them oneth or higher). (sector 63)

Bugs
Sidedef 791, behind the horseman mural in the water-filled southern hall, lacks an upper texture. This causes the ceiling flat of the lower ceiling to leak over the wall.

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

The data was last verified in its entirety on May 2, 2022.

Player spawns
This level contains four spawn points:
 * 1) facing north. (thing 17)
 * 2) facing north-west. (thing 18)
 * 3) facing south. (thing 19)
 * 4) facing west. (thing 20)

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