Heretic3: The heart of D'sparil:

A concept list for a series of NEW Jheretic episodes based off RAVEN software's HERETIC.

Concepts/etc. by Greg Fisk

Heretic3: The heart of D'sparil

Story:
It is not long after the events in Heretic2 took place. Corvus is kicking back a bit after his fight against Morcalavin and his forces. But unaware, a sequence of events is shaping which will unleash a danger like he has never faced before.

When the heroes of Hexen2 destroyed Praevus, they released the essences of the Serpent Riders. Their essences, however, were formless and powerless; their bodies destroyed.

D'sparil's spirit quickly wended its way back to Parthoris. Long derided as the weakest of the Serpent Riders, he was certainly the most cautious and most cunning.
As soon as his brothers Korax and Eidolon had abandoned Parthoris to conquer other worlds, D'sparil laid careful plans. He knew within the realm of aether he was vulnerable, and even more so without the extra protection of his brothers' presence or access to the Chaos Sphere. But unlike his brothers, who were so confident in their powers that they took no safeguards, D'sparil took vigorous precautions to ensure that the mortality of the realm of aether would not permanently affect him.

From the conquered mortal races of Parthoris, and arcane tomes plundered from elvish cities, D'sparil had studied and learned all he could of mortal and elvish life. He conducted vile experiments in his undersea realm, and with this knowledge he learned to manipulate the life essences that exist within all creatures. Many of these experiments found their way into D'sparils armies - the golems for example, were of particular interest to him. These were artificial bodies into which he had been able to funnel the life energies of mortal men.

Delighted in his success with the golems, D'sparil conducted his greatest triumph. He was able to funnel his own life energies into a physical object. An indestructible gem of fabulous beauty. Into this gem he poured a portion of his very essense. Though it weakened him, he knew the experiment was successful. If ever he was slain or destroyed, he would still be alive.

And after Corvus invaded his realm and finally put and end to him, his essense still resided within the gem, which his few surviving minions named 'The Heart Of D'sparil'.
But D'sparil's plan had one flaw: all of his Dark Disciples were destroyed when D'sparil's spirit and body were seperated. And none of his surviving army knew how to use the Heart, or even what it's ultimate purpose might be.

The years passed. D'sparil's remaining army disbanded and the Heart resided in its secret cache in Silverspring for thousands of years.

And then D'sparil's spirit was released from Praevus, and he returned to find his once great realm destroyed. And with no Dark Disciples to use the gem to restore him, he was unable to assume physical form again.

Until one day, when a theif named Cravex discovered the Heart of D'sparil in it's long-forgotten cache. Unable to believe his luck, he absconded from Silverspring with the Heart. The gates were only lightly guarded due to a lack of manpower caused by Morcalavin's plague, but he was searched. Cravex was obliged to kill the lone guard to make his escape.

And the key ingredients to work the heart were unwittingly provided. The blood of an innocent. Through the gem, D'sparil's spirit was now empowered enough to whisper suggestions to Cravex' mind, and led him on to more murder and hatred. And with each death, D'sparil gained more and more power until he was finally in full posession of Cravex' body.

And at last, under D'sparil's direct control, Cravex uttered the dark incantations which activated the Heart.
And D'sparil was reborn.

At once, he went into hiding and set into motion his long made plans to restore his empire on Parthoris. He also laid new plans to restore his brothers, Korax and Eidolon, to life as well. The barriers between Parthoris and the realm Outside the aether were restored, but not unbreakable. But to break them down and summon beasts from Outside, he would need help.

Assuming the guise of a cloaked and robed wanderer, D'sparil watched and waited. He observed the Sidhe, who were once his enemies, but still had the most magical potential of all the races of Parthoris. He had observed the effects of Morcalavin's plague and how it had turned the peace loving Sidhe into murderous lunatics and wondered if this knowledge might serve him in some way. He found that one of his ancient fortresses had not been destroyed or discovered. It was long abandoned, but would serve his purposes. He harvested corpses of Sidhe who had been infected and in the laboratories of his fortress, he studied the magically created plague.

He was unable to duplicate it, but he did manage to create a weaker non-lethal version of it. Armed with this new weapon, he sowed the seeds of his plague among the Sidhe who were still laboring to rebuild after the destruction caused by Morcalavin.
Most of the elves were not affected, but some were. Already tried and disparaged by the many hardships they had endured, some of the Sidhe were driven, not to madness, but to bitterness and anger by the spell. They murmered that their way of life and philosophies had left them weak and vulnerable, and that perhaps it was time to find another way.

D'sparil could not have hoped for anything more. He now walked among the Sidhe who had responded to the spell, whispering that there was a better way, if they had the courage to take a new road. Bewitched and influenced by D'sparil's plague, there were many who responded.

When he had gathered them to his hidden fortress, he revealed himself to them. At first they were shocked, but he spoke words of flattery to them, promising to aid them and to make them strong and feared so they would never be victimized again. And the minds of the Sidhe, weakened by the plague, gave way to his reasoning. D'sparil returned to the role that the Serpent Riders had once used to beguile the races of Parthoris - as givers of gifts and power.

With his new followers, D'sparil now had the magical numbers and strength to begin executing his plan. With the aid of his Sidhe Dark Templar, he was able to tear down the walls between the realm of aether and the realm outside. And slowly, he began to raise an army of new creatures from the Outside. His fortress was rebuilt and fortified. And he rebuilt the portals that had served to connect his ancient fortresses. Many had been destroyed, but there were still many that were only abandoned. These he rebuilt as well, and almost unnoticed by the races of Parthoris, D'sparil's army swelled and he had many key locations under his control. The Dark Templar were pleased, seeing the strength and security D'sparil's fortresses provided, and were able to persuade even more Sidhe to join them. D'sparil knew he must bide his time and wait for the right moment to strike, knowing that the Templar might abandon him if they made an unprovoked assault against the Sidhe who had not joined them.

D'sparil carefully arranged for some of his followers to journey to Silverspring. They wore the mark of the Trident, and D'sparil knew that they would not be welcomed warmly by the Sidhe. As he predicted, they were abused and harangued by the Sidhe as they traveled, and eventually attacked. The dispute came to blows, and most of D'sparil's followers were killed. They returned to his fortress with tales of their abuse, begging for the chance to avenge themselves and their fallen comrades. D'sparil promised them they would be avenged, but they would need more power. They would need his brothers. And to return them to Parthoris, he needed the fabled tomes of power. Blinded by rage, the Templar said they would aid him.

And then rumor reached D'sparil's ears - that Corvus was still alive. D'sparil learned that Corvus was now a guardian of the Tomes. But now he laid yet more plans - to use the strength of his enemy to serve him.

He fed tales to his angered followers that the Sidhe were plotting war against them, and used the attack on his servants to fuel their rage. Now almost fully bewitched by D'sparil, the Templar heeded his call. They summoned more beasts from the realm Outside, and D'sparil had them launch an attack on one of the outlying villages of Silverspring. And unknown to his servants, D’sparil sent an anonymous message to his worst enemy, warning him of the coming attack, knowing that Corvus would not be able to resist the summons.....

MONSTERS: D'sparil has a whole new army of monsters to make Corvus' life miserable on his journeys, and he's picked up a few new tricks as well.

Goblins: Small weak land bound critters. Armed with hitscan weapons identical to Corvus' elven wand. Not much life, and weak damage, but you can't dodge them, and they shoot a lot, so be careful.

Trolls: Huge, muscular beasts with clubs. They move slowly, but strike VERY swiftly (none of this two-second-delay-before-you-start-taking-damage crap). They will randomly charge at you with great speed, so keep your distance. They have lots of life and do lots of damage with the club. Trolls regenerate slowly after they die, so don't think that just because they go down that you'll never see them again.... The only way to get rid of them is to gib their corpses. There are other types of trolls that hurl slow moving rocks at long range.

Blink Dogs: Vicious four legged beasts that run quickly and do melee damage. They teleport a lot, and they love to hit you from behind. Medium life and low damage, but there are lots of them. (Getting bitten by a Blink Dog will slow your speed down by 50% for 30 seconds?)

Phantom: This monster is a flying 'ghost' with slashing claws. It doesn't do much damage, but this melee monster is different than others. It moves at an average clip, but it can pass THROUGH walls and doors - meaning you can't befuddle this beast just by running into the next room and putting a wall between him and you. The phantom's claws contain evil magic adn getting cut by a phantom will slow you down.

Skeletals: Skeletons that come in 3 varieties:

Knight: Skeletal Knight has a shield and sword. It does melee damage and behaves very similarly to a Slaughtaur with its sheild. Medium damage and medium life (if you get past the shield).
Knifer: Throws a spread of 3 knives that move fast and do low damage. Medium life.
Wizard: Uses a hitscan weapon identical to Corvus' Dragon Claw. Medium/high life and Dragon Claw damage.

Hellwasps: From the realm Outside, these demonic insects are twisted relatives of the Sabreclaw. They fly around and blast hellfire from their stingers, identical to the attack from Corvus' Hellstaff. Very fast. Medium/High life and Hellfire damage.

HellQueen: Comparable beast to the Iron Liche. A huge, tough insect that crawls along the ground. Unlike the hellwasps, the Queen cannot fly. It fires shots identical to the Firemace, so don't stand still when a queen is around. At random, the queen will spawn a hellwasp. Lots of life and Firemace damage.

Phoenix Dragon: A vicious Dragon that fires shots identical to Corvus' Phoenix Staff at long range. At close range, it uses an attack identical to Corvus' powered-up Phoenix Staff. Slow moving. Very high life and Phoenix fire damage.

SPECIAL MONSTERS:

Gremlin: In some levels, there will be an evil imp called a Gremlin. It moves very fast and does no damage, but it will randomly steal a class of artifact or weapon from you if it touches you, and teleport away, laughing. You must hunt him down to get your stuff back. Not sure how much life he should have....

Dark Templar: Your own people, the Sidhe, turned against you and magically empowered by D'sparil. They have studied directly from the Tomes of Power and are very dangerous. They have no attacks of their own, but they can summon in beasts to fight for them. They also teleport away from danger under sustained fire, just like D'sparil himself once did. Medium/High life and no damage. Any Templar can randomly use these abilities to empower any nearby monster:
Empower: An enchanted long-range monster's attack becomes a 3-way spread. Hitscan long-range monsters can shoot faster and more often. Melee monsters attack faster and do more damage.
Indestructible: An enchanted beast become invulnerable for 20 seconds. And you thought only YOU could do it.....
Speed: An enchanted monster moves super fast and is erratic in his movements.
Fly: An enchanted monster can fly around. Obviously, this doesn’t help the Hellwasps.

Again, there are 3 varieties of Templar:
Blue: Summons in weak monsters like Goblins and Blink dogs.
Red: Can randomly summon small - medium monsters including Trolls, Skeletals and Hellwasps.
Black: Can randomly summon any class of monster including Queens and even Phoenix Dragons.

SPECIAL MAP OBJECTS:

Monster Generators: Some maps have monster generators in them to keep the map stocked with beasts. Not every type of monster has a generator, but the ones who do have unique ones. The skeletal generators are in the shape of open graves. Blink dogs and Goblins emerge from "Den" structures. Hellwasps emerge from hive-like honeycombs. Monster generators can be destroyed to stop their production. They have high life and will take quite a pounding.

Spirit Towers: Dark Obelisks that send out hitscan sparks of lightning if you get too close. They can be destroyed, but they have high life and can take quite a shellacking. They serve as rallying points for the monsters since you must keep your distance while destroying it.

The SERPENT RIDERS: At the end of each 'episode', instead of meeting one of the tougher monsters for the first time, you will instead meet a Serpent Rider.

EIDOLON: You meet him at the end of episode one, where you learn the extent of D'sparil's plan and the great danger that now threatens Parthoris. He no longer grows to giant size because he no longer has the Chaos Sphere, but that doesn't mean you will have an easy time with him. In a reversal of fortune, he is now the least powerful Serpent Rider, but still has great power. He has VERY high life and still has his super-duper bevvy of fireball blasts, but that's not all. He can now teleport, just like the rest of his Serpent Rider brothers. Instead of summoning beasts in to fight for him, he can instead turn completely invisible for 30 seconds. Between teleporting and invisibility, you will have a tough time FINDING him, let alone knowing where the next shot is coming from....

KORAX: He's back at the end of episode two, and I'll bet you thought since he was such a wuss in Hexen1 that he'll be a pushover this time as well. Don't bet on it. He will be in a map that is at least as dangerous as he is, but even so he has new powers to dazzle and amaze you. If you get too close, he slashes with all six of his clawed arms and can get you nearly dead in one stroke. The spirits in his belly can be unleashed in an attack similar to the Hexen1 Wraithverge. And like all the serpent Riders, he teleports away under sustained fire.

D'SPARIL: At the end of episode3, you have your final showdown with D'sparil. You must stop him before he uses the remaining Tomes and Templar to bring back Eidolon and Korax yet again. Like the others, D'sparil has new powers. Besides the obligitory teleporting, he also summons monsters to fight for him again. But instead of Disciples, he summons in random Dark Templar. And in turn the Templar summon in their respective beasts if you don't kill them fast. Besides this, he no longer has his lame slow-moving energy ball, but a hitscan lightning bolt that hurts a lot. And at random, he will put up a shield that makes him invulnerable for 20 seconds. Expect pain, and lots of it.

MAP IDEAS: Episode ONE

Map1: The Village. This should be a medium map, with several 'hut' like structures on a flat, grassy expanse. Non player characters are running around, being pursued/killed by goblins. At the end of the map will be a 'cutscene' in which D'sparil and Corvus meet (a magical projection). Corvus will learn that D'sparil is alive. He will return to Silverspring to find that while he was defending the village, the Dark Templar have stolen the Tomes of Power....

Map2: Goblin Valley. A small map in a wilderness/rocky or ruined building type setting. Primarily the cream puff map where Corvus fights low level beasts when starting on his great journey to hunt down D'sparil yet again. Populated with Goblins and one Troll. It has your first monster generator, a goblin den.

Map3: Trollshaws: Another wilderness like map/maze on your Journey to the first of D'sparil's fortresses. Populated by goblins, Blink Dogs and several trolls as well as a couple of dens to destroy. There will be caches of time bombs so you can gib the trolls this time, but use them wisely....

Map4: Cloisters: D'sparil's first fortress is a large Castle (The place D'sparil first went to study the plague). Filled with trident symbols and evil imagery. It is equipped with your first Spirit Tower encounters. Populated with Goblins, Trolls and Blink Dogs. It begins with D'sparil appearing to you to taunt you again, telling you you're on the right track but promising defeat. Fight your way thru to:

Map5: Inner Keep: Now beyond the outer courtyards of the fortress and the parapets, The inner keep is a familiar corrupted church like map. It has your first view of the skeletal Knights and Knifers, as well as Blink Dogs and Goblins and a Troll or Two. This map also has your first Dark Templar encounter - a Blue.

Map6: Labs: The labs where D'sparil made his version of the plague. Loads of corpses and evil decorations. A medium map with lots of 'rooms' where D'sparil did his work and lots of guards. Monsters include Skeletals, and your first Skeletal wizard encounter. There will be one open grave to destroy.

Map7: Dungeons: Large map, very roomy with large cells and tunnels. Spirit towers are around tight corners, meaning you can expect to get zapped a few times before backpedaling to a safe area to destroy them. A medley of all kinds of monsters previously encountered, as well as a couple of dens and open graves, and your first Red Templar. He has the key to exit the dungeon, so don't think you can just breeze past everyone to the exit.... Once you reach the exit, D'sparil appears to taunt you yet again, and informing you of a special surprise awaiting you....

Map8: Inner Fein: Eidolon's Return: The exit from the Dungeons opens into a vast arena hewn into the mountain behind the fortress. The Templar have used a dark ritual and the Tomes of Power to return the Serpent Rider Eidolon to life. And guess what - you must fight him. The arena is very similar to D'sparil's arena in Episode3 of Heretic1 - an open area with a central pentagram where the summoning ritual took place, and a platform in each corner for Eidolon to teleport to. There are dens near each corner to destroy as well, but you can probably trick Eidolon into shooting at them himself, as well as mowing down any monsters they produce. When/if you defeat him, you will open a portal leading to the levels of Episode two, and you get the final cutscene where D'sparil congratulates you, but tells you that while you were fighting here, he has completed preparations to invade Parthoris. Korax has also returned and been unleashed in Silverspring, spreading slaughter and destruction. He challenges you to try and stop him, and of course you have no choice but to accept, but you wonder - is D'sparil trying to divert you yet again while doing something even more horrible somewhere else....?

Map Ideas: EPISODE TWO
This episode deals with Corvus returning to Silverspring and fighting desperately to free it from the minions of Korax who are running rampant. These maps should look and feel more like the 'heretic1' maps of episode1, with greyish dungeons and such. But since Korax is in charge of this episode, it should have the "Hub" method of level progression like Hexen1, whereas the Eidolon episode had 'linear' progression like Doom and Heretic.
Map1: The Docks. Since this is Silverspring, this map should be a re-make of the famous map from Heretic1, episode1. But it should be retooled and expanded slightly to reflect the passage of time. Some new rooms should be added and the items, gates and keys should be re-arranged. It should also take the new monsters and their abilities into account, so that players won't say "oh, this is just that boring old heretic1 map". Essentially, this will be the 'throwaway' level of the episode (like the 'Winnowing Hall' of Hexen1, or the 'Village' map of Deathkings of the Dark Citidel), before Corvus arrives at the 'main hub' level to begin the journey towards Korax. It should contain Goblins, Skeletal Knights and a Blue Templar. This map will also have your first Gremlin encounter, and give you a taste of what it'll be like to hunt him on the BIGGER maps....
The exit will be sealed until you defeat the Templar, and at the end is another text cutscene where you learn that Korax has destroyed the artifact that the Sidhe used to travel to other parts of Parthoris. You will not be able to confront Korax and progress on your quest until you have rebuilt this artifact.....
Map2: The Courtyards. At the beginning of each map in Episode2, you pass thru a small cubicle like in all the Hexen1 main levels, and on this level it is KORAX who appears to taunt you, saying "GREETINGS CORVUS. ARE YOU READY TO DIE?"
This should be a vast, sprawling map that has a large central area to work towards and several side areas to fight through to reach the portals that lead to the other levels of the hub. It should be fancy and impressive like all the main hub levels of Hexen1 were, preferably as impressive and complicated and annoying as the "Castle of Grief" from Hexen1. It should have a feel like a 'main plaza' of the city of Silverspring that leads to other parts of the town, except that it's littered with Sidhe bodies and other signs of Korax' evil influence. The alcoves for each sub-map portal should have some decorations appropriate to which map they lead to - some boxes around the 'storage room' portal, some gravestones around the 'graveyard' portal, and so on.

There should be a large rippling 'portal' at the far end of the map that keeps sending in new beasts every so often. (Each map of Hexen1 and Deathkings would spawn in about 8 monsters if you stayed in it for too long - think along those lines). Korax' arena lies beyond this portal, but it is sealed against you, and you must solve the hub puzzle to gain access. It should start off with low level beasts, Goblins, Blink Dogs, Rock-throwing Trolls and Goblin Knifers. It should also contain a couple of monster generators, a Red Templar, a Gremlin and your first run-in with the Phantoms.

As to the hub progression structure, I'm thinking along the lines of a large 'pedestal' in the center of the map. It once contained a large floating crystal Chaos symbol, which was made by Darchala (the same Sidhe elf who created the chaos devices). It served as the main source of magic that the Sidhe used to get their ethereal portals to work. But Korax and his minions have broken it into 8 pieces (1 piece for each arrow of the chaos symbol), and scattered them into the different levels of the hub, hiding them and placing them under heavy guard.

Like the "Sevel Portals" hub, there will only be ONE doorway to another map of the hub that is open when you first arrive, and even this one must be opened by finding a switch hidden somewhere on the main hub itself. All the others will be sealed until you have solved other puzzles and switches.

Each map of the hub will have two main parts. One, you must fight your way thru puzzles and beasts to obtain a fragment of the Chaos crystal. And two, there will be a 'switch' hidden in each level of each sub-map which will 'open' a gate in the 'main hub' that is sealed. I'm not sure how it should all be arranged, but of course it should be engineered so that you have to go back to each level of the hub at least twice, once to get the crystal fragment, and again to find the switch that unseals another gate. Here's how it could work:

1) Placing a segment of the Chaos crystal on the main pedestal will flash up the message 'You hear a panel open in the distance'. Putting a segment in place will 'open' another hidden switch on the main hub, which you must now find. This will be the gimmick that makes you keep roving thru the main hub and fighting all the beasts that keep spawning in.

2) Pulling the switches that are thus opened on the main hub will flash up the message 'You hear a door open in (insert name here) level'. This will mean that the section of the side hub maps that WERE sealed are now open. Meaning that you can go back into the side hub maps and find the switches that will open the OTHER side hub maps that are sealed.

This opens up the possiblilty of having many sections of the main hub that you must fight through, and also the side hub maps. It should all be arranged so that you have to criss-cross back and forth in the same annoying (yet fascinating) way you did in Hexen1 and Deathkings.

On The Sub-Maps: The hub should be constructed with the COURTYARDS as the main hub. Each of the 8 sub-maps should be constructed as if they were areas of the city of Silverspring that the courtyard would normally lead to. Graveyards, churches, houses, storage rooms, dungeons and so on. Each should have it's own 'flavor' and yet still have the basic look of the Silverspring levels of Heretic1. This will help maintain the illusion that you are in the city of Silverspring and accessing it's many areas through it's doorways and courtyard.

Sub-Map1: Cathedral. "WORSHIP ME, AND I MAY YET BE MERCIFUL. THEN AGAIN, MAYBE NOT." This map of the hub will be a 'corrupted church' map, and should be made with the same feel as the cathedral map of Heretic1, episode1, but with Hexen's more advanced decorations and stained glass and such. It will contain all types of Skeletals, as well as other lesser monsters like Goblins, Trolls and Phantoms.

You will find the crystal fragment near the altar of the cathedral, but it will only appear AFTER you have defeated the main enemy of this hub, a Red Templar. There are other sections of the cathedral that cannot be reached yet. Take the crystal fragment back to the main hub and place it in the pedestal. This will open switch2 on the main hub. Hitting switch2 will open the sealed portion of the Cathedral.

When the switch opening up the sealed section of the cathedral is pulled, you may enter in and fight your way to the Cathedral switch. These areas of the cathedral will be smaller rooms and such, where the Bishops and what not would normally hang out. Hitting the Cathedral switch will open up the doorway to Sub-Map2. The sealed section of the map will contain low level monsters, but TWO Blue Templars to pump them up.

Sub-Map2: Desolate Gardens. "MY SERVANTS CAN SMELL YOUR BLOOD, CORVUS." This should be a map with a small section that is paved and concrete, but leads into wide open fields and gullys like the 'wilderness' maps of Hexen1. It should convey an area of farming that was rapidly abandoned when Korax attacked, with bodies lying in the fields and such. A few farmhouses, silos and graneries should be mixed into the landscape, along with some hidden caves for switches. This map will contain goblins, Trolls, Skeletals and something new - it will have one Honeycomb monster generator and will be your first formal run-in with the Hellwasps.

Again, crystal fragment2 won't just be lying around for you to find. The cubbyhole where it's hidden will not open until you defeat another Red Templar. Bring fragment2 to the pedestal in the main hub. This will open up switch3 on the main hub that opens the sealed portion of sub-map2.

The sealed section of sub-map2 will lead to more fields and gully areas. It will have even more baddies to fight and more hellwasps. Kill them all to open the hidden switch. Pulling this switch will open the portal to sub-map3.

Sub-Map3: Graveyards. "ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH TO FACE... MY MINIONS?" This hub map is the mortuary section of Silverspring, filled with grey skies, graves, tombs and crypts. It should be constructed and laid out to convey a vast decrepit graveyard. Skeletals and Phantoms will be the main enemies on this map, (mixed in with other types) and there will be many open graves to destroy. The actual layout of the map should be left to the imagination of the mapper.

Again, only killing the Templar will open up the cubbyhole that contains Crystal fragement3. Bring fragment 3 back to the main hub. This will open switch4, which in turn will open the sealed portion of sub-map3.

The sealed portion of sub-map3 contains not only skeletals and open graves, but several spirit towers as well. The graveyard switch will open the portal to sub-map4.

Sub-Map4: Marketplace. "YOU HAVE PLAYED THIS GAME TOO LONG, CORVUS. I THINK I SHALL REMOVE YOU FROM THE BOARD." This is the main 'marketplace' of Silverspring, with simple structures made to resemble shops and stores as much as possible. It should be built as a large outdoor map with several 'structures' to enter and switches to pull in order to open other shops. You should go thru a sequence of finding keys, unlocking shops, pulling switches and opening other shops, all the while fighting the monsters that are unleashed with each door. On the last door, you'll unleash a swarm of Hellwasps and a Red Templar. Beat them up and take Crystal fragment4 back to the main hub.
Placing fragment4 in the pedestal will unlock the sealed portion of the Marketplace. Go back and fight through a large open plaza filled with spirit towers, phantoms, Hellwasps and Trolls. Hidden in the large plaza is the Marketplace switch, which will open the portal on the main hub leading to sub-map5.

Sub-Map5: Living Quarters. "AN ELVISH VISITOR - STAY A WHILE... STAY FOREVER!" This sub-map is the 'living' area of Silverspring, a large open sky map surrounded by an enclosed wall. Within the 'wall' the map should be constructed to resemble a large city subdivision, with blocks of streets laid out and a fountain or statue in the center or something. There will be three teirs of 'housing blocks', with the houses on the outer rim being small and simple houses for the peasants. The second rim has larger, more complex houses for the 'middle class', and the center rim has the largest houses where the rich, snooty elves live. Only the streets and the first tier of houses will be open, and hidden in one of these houses is crystal fragment5. You should be forced to roam the whole map, with switches in some houses unlocking the doors to houses on the other side of the map. New baddies will spawn into the town square with each unlocking. The map will have a medly of beasts in it, and also another gremlin will be in this map.

Take fragment5 to the main hub and place it in the pedestal. This will open the sealed portion of the living quarter sub-map. In this case, it will allow you to access the second tier of houses, forcing you to endure yet another round of switch pulling, door hunting and enemy spawning. Going thru all the medium houses will open the mansions in the third tier of homes, and in the last mansion is a switch, which will open the portal on the main hub leading to sub-map6.

Sub-Map6: Storage Rooms. "THE REALM OUTSIDE BECKONS TO YOU.... CORVUS." This sub-map should be built to resemble a large interior section filled with rooms that contain boxes, goods and whatever else the Hexen decorations can convey. This map should be simpler, to give you a little break from the gauntlet you had to run in the Living Quarters. But this map will be laid out in a tight maze of boxes and other storage rooms. It will contain melee beasts like Trolls, blink dogs and phantoms since it will be tighter and harder to get away from them. Watch out for the phantoms, who can pass right through the wall and boxes to get to you. Spirit towers should also be placed in strategic points to zap you if you run around corners too fast. Wend your weary way through and collect fragment6.

Putting fragment6 into the main hub will open another panel. Hunt thru the main hub to find it, and pull the switch to open the sealed portion of the storage rooms. Get ready for another whuppin from gangs of Trolls and Phantoms as you fight your way through larger, more open storage rooms and pull the Storage Room switch to open the portal on the main hub that leads to sub-map7.

Sub-Map7: Fortress. "YOUR RESISTANCE WILL ONLY BRING YOU ETERNAL SUFFERING." This map should be like the fortress map of Deathkings with a castle you must bust into and fight through, preferably with an outside area like the Hexen map had to give it that 'vast' feel. This of course is the fortress area of Silverspring where residents are supposed to flee to in time of war. But it seems the Sidhe didn't quite make it. This map will be much more open, vast and airy than the storage rooms. And even inside the fortress should be huge and open, like a great hall with high vaulted cielings. Flying enemies will be your foes on this map, since it is open to the sky outside, and has high cielings inside. You'll find Phantoms and Hellwasps a-go-go, along with spirit towers in strategic places and open graves and honeycomb generators. There will also be another gremlin to hunt. You should have to fight your way first through the area outside the fortress, then inside through the fortress area and some rooms, then to the battlements to find fragment7.

Put fragment7 into the pedestal of the main hub to open a hidden panel. Pull the switch thus revealed to open the 'dungeon' section of the fortress. This will be 'underground' beneath the main fort area, with dark passages and dungeon cells full of baddies to fight and a Red Templar to defeat. Defeating the Templar will open a panel revealing the Fortress switch. Pull this switch to open the portal on the main hub leading to Sub-map8.

Sub-Map8: Hell's Maw. "WELCOME BACK, CORVUS - TO HELL'S MAW." This hub map will be a modified version of the "Hell's Maw" level from Heretic1, episode1. Only this one will be a centerpiece for the Hellqueens and the Hellwasps. There will be honeycomb monster generators here and there to enhance the feel that this is a section of Silverspring that has been overrun by the insectoid invaders from the realm Outside. You have to kill everything on the map in order to raise fragment8 from the tiny pit it's contained in. Bring the final fragment to the main hub.

In the main hub, when you finish assembling the Chaos crystal, you get a nasty surprise. The spawning portal doesn't collapse right away - instead the crystal's reactivation causes Three Hellqueens and your first Phoenix Dragon to appear on the map and start spawning in Hellwasps and Sabreclaws. You have to kill them all. Only then will the portal collapse. Take a deep breath and move on to Korax' arena....

Finale Map: Maze of Grief: Korax' Return. "YOU HAVE COME A LONG WAY... ONLY TO DIE." This arena will be like the 'steel guardian' map of Hexen1 - only MUCH bigger. The whole map will be like the area in Steel Guardian where you had to navigate your way thru a maze of rising and falling columns, only this one will not be so tight. There will also be sections of maze-like paths of the floor that turn into 'hurt me' sludge and/or lava. These sections rise and fall at random, creating an ever shifting maze you must hunt through to get to Korax, and making his teleports even more annoying since you must keep hunting thru the maze to get to him again.

He summons in beasts to fight as well, but in a different way. You will fight one on one with Korax in the maze until he loses a certain amount of life - for example, let us say he has 7000 life points and loses 1000 fighting you. He will then teleport to the center of his arena and go 'dormant'. He will be surrounded by a sheild that reflects all attacks. And then he will summon in a huge number of beasts for you to fight while the arena goes dormant too, all of the maze sections reverting to flat and empty floor. You must kill all the beasts, and when you do, Korax' shield will be destroyed as well. At this point, the maze will go active again, and you resume the 'hunt' for Korax until you knock off another 1000 HP, and repeat this annoying cycle until you finally kill him.

Slaying Korax will unleash all the spirits in his belly - so RUN from his corpse until they dissipate. This will open the portal that leads to episode3, and also the next text cutscene where D'sparil's apparation appears to you again. Here you learn that the entire journey to slay Korax was a carefully engineered plot by D'sparil himself. He had planned to use the Chaos crystal to repeat the historical slaughter of the Sidhe race during his first uprising so long ago. His desire was to use it's teleporting powers to summon powerful beasts from the realm Outside and transport them to every corner of Parthoris in a massive invasion. But this time, the Sidhe had used their magic to 'lock' the Chaos crystal so that neither the Templar, nor the Serpent Riders could use it. The only way to get it to 'work' again was to dismantle it, and have a Sidhe elf reassemble it and restore it's power. And this is exactly what you yourself did. While you were battling Korax, the Templar and the other servants of D'sparil entered the Courtyards and have taken the Chaos crystal, and plan to use it to launch their invasion of hellspawn from the realm Outside. Gritting your teeth, you realize that you have been a pawn in D'sparil's game all along. Your only hope to stop history from repeating itself is to confront D'sparil and slay him before he can complete his plan. You take up your pack and resume your quest to Episode 3....

Hub progression for episode2:
Unsealed switch1 on main hub opens portal to sub-map1.
Sub-map1 has fragment1 for pedestal on main hub.
Fragment1 in main hub opens switch2 on main hub.
Switch2 on main hub opens sealed section of sub-map1.
Sealed section of sub-map1 has switch that opens portal to sub-map2.

Submap2 has fragment2 for pedestal in main hub.
Fragment2 opens switch3 on main hub.
Switch3 on main hub opens sealed section of sub-map2.
Switch in sealed section of sub-map2 opens portal to sub-map3.

Sub-map3 has fragment3 for pedestal in main hub.
Fragment3 in main hub opens switch4 on main hub.
Switch4 on main hub opens sealed section of sub-map3.
Switch in sealed section of sub-level3 opens portal to Sub-map4.

Sub-map4 contains fragment4 for pedestal in main hub.
fragment4 in main hub opens switch5 on main hub.
Switch5 on main hub opens sealed section of sub-map4.
Switch in sealed section of sub-map4 opens portal to sub-map5.

Sub-map 5 has fragment 5 for main hub.
Fragment 5 on main hub opens switch6 on main hub.
Switch 6 on main hub opens sealed section of sub-map5.
Switch in sealed section of sub-map5 opens portal to sub-map6.

Sub-map 6 has fragment 6 for main hub.
Fragment 6 on main hub opens switch7 on main hub.
Switch7 on main hub opens sealed section of sub-map6.
Sealed section of sub-map6 contains switch opening portal to sub-map7.

Sub-map7 has fragment7 for main hub.
Fragment 7 on main hub opens switch8 on main hub.
Switch8 on main hub opens sealed section of sub-map7.
Sealed section of sub-map7 opens portal to sub-map8.

Sub-map8 contains fragment8 for main hub.
fragment8 in main hub unleashes the Hellqueens.
Killing Hellqueens solves main hub and lets you enter Korax' arena.