The Winnowing Hall

This is the first level in Hexen. You start in front of some kind of chapel. This level is very simple, so here's a sketch of how to complete the level (the full solution is in the next section):
  1. Get the Emerald Key from within the chapel
  2. Open the door that requires the Emerald Key, and get the Silver Key
  3. Ring the bell at the top of the tower
  4. Go back into the chapel, step into the teleport and enter the portal to the next level.

Getting the Emerald Key

The key is in a secret area somewhere in the chapel. Hint: vandalize the chapel! (ie. smash the stained glass).

Once you find the secret passage, pull the switch inside to open those big yellow slabs. Enter the now revealed door, and look for a switch. This will lower the pillar in the centre of the room to reveal the Emerald Key. Once you get the key, the big yellow slabs begin to move. Careful! It's a trap. You will get crushed by the slabs unless you run through when all of them are open. You need to time yourself carefully for this.

Note: one of the yellow doors in the room will open if you're playing deathmatch. The teleport inside takes you up to the top of the cliff outside the chapel, where there's an item or two. This only applies to deathmatch games, though. So far, I've not been able to open this area in single-player mode.

For those of you who wonder what those switches behind the fireball traps do... it's simple. Those switches simply re-activates the walls in case you get stuck behind them when they are deactivated. The switches don't do anything when the trap is active.

Getting the Silver Key

Open the big door at the foot of the fort with the Emerald Key. Pull a switch inside to open a door that leads to the battlements. Now, go up to the battlements and walk to the mini-tower. When you get there, a switch will pop out of the floor. Pull this switch to open the inner door in the fort.

Tip: there's a platinum helmet somewhere on the battlements which will increase your armor class: see if you can find it!

Now, enter the courtyard with the bell tower. Somewhere on the right is the entrance to the cave with the silver key. Be careful once you get the key, though, because another trap will be activated. The easiest way to get out is to step in front of the first crusher, and when it slams together, run forward against it. Once it opens, you'll be running against the second crusher, and so on. This works because of the way the crushers are timed.

Ringing the Bell

This one is easy. :) Use the Silver Key you just found to get into the bell tower. Climb to the top and strike the bell (or shoot at it if you're a mage). The bell will ring, and will cause the teleport inside the chapel to be opened.

Note: I noticed that with the Mage, there's a bug here that lets you shoot at the bell from outside, without ever getting the Silver Key. It's a little harder than in the Demo version of Hexen, but it's still possible. I wonder if this is a slip by the level designers.

Now simply go back to the chapel and step into the teleport, which will take you to a small room with the portal leading to the next level, the Seven Portals. Stepping close to the portal opens a passage to the right that leads back to the front of the chapel.


Next level: The Seven Portals
Hexen walkthrough index