Cache locations

There are at least 41 hidden caches in Avernum. I provide the location of each one, giving a screenshot of the location and hopefully showing a nearby location on the map for reference. I also provide a verbal description of the location.

Introduction

Greetings, fellow treasure hunters!

As you hopefully know already, scattered all over Avernum are hidden caches filled with mostly minor treasures. You might be just in for it for an achievement, or maybe you want to totally perfect your stats screen. It's okay, many people like that!

I will provide a list of caches in each area as well as screenshots. For areal division, I have used the general area in the map instead of the in-game messages about arriving into different areas. This should be okay, because the screenshots and descriptions will do the trick anyway. Mind you, there are some (rather minor but still) spoilers in there. If relevant to the plot, I have hidden them, but screenshots might give something out regardless.

You can only find caches on the world map. Before opening, caches look like this:



Before you can open a cache, you need to have a sufficient level of Cave Lore (CL). You need at most a total skill level 12 in your party to be able to find and open all of them.

In this guide, I will attempt to provide all their locations. I found them all on my first run, but thought about making the guide only recently, so I haven't noted what was in all the caches or what their required skill level was (except seldomly). If there's demand, I'll try to provide that information as well but for now only the locations are provided.

Hopefully this guide helps you, for on my first run I used quite a lot of time trying to find all the caches and secure the achievement for finding 40 of them.

Helpful tips

Few tips and tricks for those of you that only want some general guidelines for finding caches:

• Caches are often hidden in far-away places, corners or in the middle of the wilderness. Explore everywhere and look for the distinct color and shape of the caches!
  
• If you find a cache that you cannot open, note the place and return later with a higher Cave Lore skill in the party.
  
• There's also a fellow in Formello, his name is Vermeers who can teach you 2 levels of Cave Lore per character for a cost of 900 gold / skill level, so you can optimize your use of skill points if you've got enough gold. You can buy skill levels even if you had already invested in the skills.
  
• Thankfully infrequent, but some caches are found behind environmental objects. It's quite annoying.

Eastern Gallery (starting area)

Eastern gallery is the very first large cave that you get to explore. Goblins, giant rats and Nephilim roam the area.

First cache

If you're the explorer type, you'll run into this one easily yourself. It's right north following the wall from Fort Avernum, east of the first water pond, in the midst of stalagmites (spiky rocks).

Second cache

This one's right next to Fort Duvno. That is, north of Fort Avernum and Silvar, in the midst of another set of stalagmites.

Third cache

North-east of Cotra, there's a very sneakily hidden cache behind some rocks. You have to find this group of stalagmites and go to its dead-end (there's a group of spiders protecting it unless you already killed them). There's a Radiate Ice Scroll here.

Fourth cache

There's another one north of Cotra, just behind the stream.

Fifth cache

This ought to be the last one on the main land area. It's south-east of Fort Dranlon, and if you're early in the game, it's next to a bunch of slitherikai.

Sixth cache

In the south-western corner of Eastern Gallery, west of Cotra, there's an island. Cache is in the middle of it. You obviously need a boat.

North-eastern Avernum: Formello and Fort Draco area

Bats and lizards roam this area, though you should be especially wary of the parts west of Fort Draco that are inhabited by the wicked Aranea.

First cache

This is right next to Formello, in a corner of the east wall.

Second cache

You have to go explore the northern cave maze for this one. If you head north of Formello and stay close to the eastern wall, you'll find this cache easily.

Third cache

South-east of Fort Drake there's a tunnel with a cache at the end of it. This is one of the partially hidden ones, for it's concealed behind a rock. You can see only a part of it but it's there: in the screenshot, it's next to the party.

Fourth cache

Head to the western side of the river from Fort Draco and head straight south, along the river. You'll find a cache at the end of the tunnel.

Fifth cache

You'll need a boat for either river to reach this one. Taking a boat south from Fort Draco, land at the south-western corner and head west. Following the eastern wall will take you straight to the cache that's in a(n apparent) dead-end.

South-eastern Avernum: area around Mertis and Tower of Magi

Area south of Silvar is rumoured to be filled with undead and ogres. It's also got four hidden caches in it.

First cache

On the coast of Honeycomb, west of Mertis, you'll find a cache buried in the sand. You can reach here by taking a boat directly south of Cotra, though you can also walk there through the Honeycomb west of Mertis.

Second cache

This cache is in a cave that you only get by boat. Take a boat approximately south-west of Cotra (or continue west from the last cache, it's the second cave west from that shore) and check the caves. In a small cave with a pillar in it, there's a cache hidden next to the wall. This is one of the sneaky hidden caches that you have trouble seeing from afar so just keep following the wall and you'll run into it.

Third cache

North-east of Mertis there's a tunnel with a cache at the end of it.

Fourth cache

North of Tower of Magi there's some kind of a ritual ground. At its edge someone has buried a cache.

Fifth cache

Half-way between Tower of Magi and Almaria there's a cave with a cache. You can find it by going west from Tower of Magi and once you come to a bunch of farm houses around a pond with fertile land, go to the north-western tunnel. You are rewarded with a shiny gold ring.

Great Cave

Situated in the western part of the map, there are seven caches in the Great Cave area.

First cache

On the edge of Great Cave, east of Almaria there's a cache in a corner of a cave. There's a Scroll: Lightning inside.

Second cache

South-west of Almaria there's a small lake. There's a cache right next to it, on its east side, with a ruby inside.

Third cache

South-west of the Castle and north-west of Patrick's tower there's a group of stalagmites with a cache in their midst.

Fourth cache

North of the Castle there's a cave with lots of dead-ends. One of them has a cache in it with an emerald in it.

Fifth cache

There's a hidden cave east of Fort Emerald on the side of the Great Cave. You can see it from the north side of the Fort.

Sixth cache

West of Dharmon, between two watery corners, there's a barren area with rocks with a cache in the middle of it. There's a Wisdom Crystal inside.

Seventh cache

There's one in the south-west corner of the Great Cave, east of Fort Remote, right next to a pond and a hut.

Central Avernum: Slith lands

Very watery area, these lands are infested with savage Slitherikai. Some caches are hidden in tunnels and shores. Needless to say, most of these require a boat bought from one of the towns of Eastern Gallery.

First cache

Probably the first one you'll run into in this area (assuming you can find it!). This cache is in a hidden cave west of Fort Dranlon. When entering the next large lake area west of Fort Dranlon, land on a northern coast with some fertile land and find a hidden entrance in a wall. You'll find your cache within.

Second cache

Going down the Great Portage, you can find a cache north-west of Slith Fortress, behind the slith villages seen on the shore.

Third cache

Again, a hidden one. This one's north of Fort Emerald, behind a slith fort. Beyond a false wall you can find some monsters guarding a cache. Incidentally, you can walk there from Fort Emerald instead of using the boat.

Fourth cache

There's one more cache that I count into this area. It's in Waterfall Warden, further west from Fort Dranlon by boat. Take the western-most waterfall down and get the cache on a shoreline before continuing down.

Northern Avernum: Lands of Kyass and Giants

To reach this area, you'll require boat and lots of muscles, because there are ogres and giants everywhere.

First cache

Take a boat north of Fort Dranlon and keep a look-out of the western shore. There's a pit with a cache there, a speed potion hidden inside.

Second cache

Taking a boat west of Fort Dranlon and going north at the intersection (north of Great Portage) you'll find a city (Freehold of Kyass). There's a cache next to wall north-west of the city.

Abysmal Chasm: Area north of Fort Saffron

There are only bandits and monsters here. Also, one cache.

Cache

North of Fort Saffron, there's a cache east of road next to the wall with a speed elixir inside.

Drake Tunnels: Caves west of Fort Remote

Unexplored lands, these caves are filled with powerful creatures. Venture forth at your own risk. There are still two caches.

First cache

Once you come to the tunnels from Fort Remote, head north. Check every tunnel to the east, until you find the cache.

Second cache

Continue northward and keep checking the eastern caves. Once you reach a bit larger cave with two ponds of water, the cache is at the west corner beyond a bunch of stalagmites.

Abyss: Area around Spire

First cache

First one's south-east of Spire, next to a bunch of fungal trees.

Second cache

Technically part of Western Avernum, this one's south-east of Erika's Tower. Then again, you'll probably find it more easily by going as far west of Spire as you can by land and then go south.

Northern Isles

Northern sea is a large water fill only accessible with a boat, as are its both caches.

First cache

Head north-east of the shipyard. Go around the first cavernous island and you'll find the cache.

Second cache

One of the sneakiest caches in the game, this one is on a small island in the northern sea, north of the shipyard, behind a tree so that you can't see it from afar. Walk behind the tree and you'll find it.

North-western Avernum: Demon lands

Infested with demons and dragons, north-western Avernum (area between Erika's Tower and Lair of Khoth) has also its share of hidden caches. It can be reached by boat or flying.

First cache

Next to Lair of Khoth, there's a some water blocking your access to the cache. You need to use the Orb to reach it.

Second cache

Go directly south from Lair of Khoth and stay close to the water. That way you'll run into this cache.

Third cache

Go west from the last cache and find another cache surrounded by lava. You obviously need the Orb.

Fourth cache

There's a cache just north of Erika's Tower, past the lava but before the land gets barren again. You should also find it going south from the last cache. This one is surprisingly easy to miss because of the terrain being so brightly-coloured.

Fifth cache

If you've done everything, you'll find the very last cache in the Realm of Grah-hoth, in a concealed passage near the fortress of the demon.

[Lord of the Unth]

A tip for those that have a 4k+ monitor, the game cant render all the ground clutter around the edge of the screen. This makes searching for these caches much simpler as the game wont render trees, bushes, stalagmites, etc that typically hide the caches.

[tigerdragon2]

Re-found this game EIGHT YEARS after first playing. Not just to get this achievement, but without this guide, never would've got it.
Thanks!

[rlegault]

Thanks so much for making this! I had missed a dozen caches!

[Sir Jace]

I was missing three of them by the end and two of them were ridiculously well-hidden. Thanks!

[frank_kretschmer]

Great, I found 80% by myself, this Guide saved me hours, searching the rest of them.

[Delisper]

Thanks for this guide. I was missing four in the end. Saved me obsessively criss crossing Avernum :)

[Drabit]

Thank you very much, I figured I was missing 1 or 2 (I forgot you could check your current total in the medal screen) was missing 8 or 9 of them

[oooo]

okay nice. got it after finding two caches east of formello. cheers!

[Twistor]

@Darkistic, it can be a bit buggy. I also remember the 5 caches one unlocking ony after I had like 8 or 9. I'm not sure but it might be tied to certain caches being found. If that is the case, then likely the important ones that trigger the achievement are in the starting areas: Eastern Gallery and North-eastern Avernum / Formello.

[oooo]

I've found about 10 caches so far but didn't get the achievement for 5? any ideas?