A bunch of Hexen (ZDoom) modding questions

[129thVisplane]

Being dissatisfied with all three of the available player classes (and their lore) in Hexen, I decided to make a custom one, merely for personal use. Now, being the unexperienced modding newbie I am, I have a bunch of questions. I did read up stuff on the ZDoom wiki but there's a high chance I overlooked things, and I apologize in advance if I come off as a prick that can't read before asking questions.

First of all:
Will the custom player class even work with the stock Hexen maps? I'm worried that the maps might be hardcoded to work only with the three default ones, thus the custom weapons might not appear, and/or the player starts might be broken.

Assuming it will work, second question:
How do I define a portrait for the custom class? "Portrait" as in the box in the class selection menu that shows the individual classes' stats (though that's in the background image) and their walking animation.

And a third question:
Any weapon suggestions? The player is going to be a rogue/mercenary from the swamps, and I've already decided on a dagger as a melee weapon and a bow as the blue mana weapon. I can handle the spritework just fine, I just lack the ideas. Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. I might have more questions soon but for now that's all.

[scifista42]

1. They will work if you properly set them in GameInfo definition inside MAPINFO.
2. The walking animation in class selection menu is generated automatically from the player's DECORATE definition.
3. Shotgun.