To unlock unique monster trophy-harvesting skills in the Gothic 1 Remake, you must find all five volumes of The Bestiary of Khorinis and return them to the hunter Cavalorn to complete his tests.
Hidden quest chains in the Gothic Remake offer some of the most rewarding exploration in the colony, and the Bestiary of Khorinis is the ultimate test for aspiring hunters. Tracking down all five volumes unlocks permanent skills to harvest rare trophies from beasts across the map. Without these skills, you will leave valuable ore nuggets on the corpses of your prey.
| Book Volume | Location | Quest Requirement / Trophy Target |
|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 | Jan’s hut near the New Camp lake | Pass the Scavengers knowledge test |
| Volume 2 | Old Mine (unlocked chest) or Wolf’s hut | Turn in the Queen’s Pheromone Gland |
| Volume 3 | Cave on the left of the Orc Territory entrance | Turn in 3 Lizard Plates |
| Volume 4 | Hidden hut at the edge of the Swamp Camp | Turn in a Swamp Shark heart and plates |
| Volume 5 | Xardas’s Tower in Chapter 4 | Turn in the Frost Shadow Beast pelt |
To begin this multi-part side quest, you must locate the hermit hunter named Cavalorn, who lives in a hut not far from the Old Camp. Finding any of the five Bestiary volumes will trigger a corresponding “Beasts of Khorinis” quest entry, but simply carrying the book is not enough. You must read the book from your inventory before speaking to Cavalorn. Reading the volume is what unlocks the internal skill checks and dialogue options needed to pass his tests and learn the harvesting techniques.
How to find all Bestiary volumes and pass Cavalorn’s tests
STEP 1/16
Steal Volume 1 from Jan’s hut
Want until nightfall, enter stealth mode, and steal the first book from the table inside Jan’s hut near the New Camp lake.
STEP 2/16
Find Cavalorn near the Old Camp
Follow the road to the right of the Old Camp main gates until you spot a goblin, then look for the hermit hunter’s hut behind it.
STEP 3/16
Read the book before talking
STEP 4/16
Answer the Scavengers test
Select “Along the upper part of the spine”, then “They amplify their calls”, and finally “To defend their feeding grounds”.
STEP 5/16
Loot Volume 2 from the Old Mine
Light a torch, navigate the deep ladders and tunnels of the Old Mine, and loot the unlocked chest deep in the cave.
STEP 6/16
Steal the alternate Volume 2
If you miss the mine, find Wolf in the New Camp and steal the alternate copy resting on his table.
STEP 7/16
Loot the Queen’s Pheromone Gland
Progress to the Chapter 2 Minecrawler Nest quest, defeat the Queen boss in the Old Mine, and loot the unique gland from her body.
STEP 8/16
Deliver the gland to Cavalorn
Return to the hunter with the gland so he can teach you how to utilize crawler organs and bloodfly poison sacks.
STEP 9/16
Loot Volume 3 near Orc Territory
Travel south from the Old Camp, bypass the Orc Territory gate guardians, and loot the second chest in the left cave.
STEP 10/16
Turn in 3 Lizard Plates
Hunt lizards in the surrounding area, harvest three plates, and return to Cavalorn to learn the Plate Removal skill.
STEP 11/16
Steal Volume 4 in the Swamp Camp
Navigate to the edge of the Swamp Camp past the hollow tree, sneak into the hidden hut, and steal the book from the table.
STEP 12/16
Kill a Swamp Shark with Lightning
Cast Lightning spells like Ball Lightning to bypass the Swamp Shark’s heavy armor, then harvest its heart and plates.
STEP 13/16
Deliver Swamp Shark parts
Bring the harvested heart and plates back to Cavalorn to complete the fourth test.
STEP 14/16
Grab Volume 5 at Xardas’s Tower
Progress to Chapter 4 of the main story, enter Xardas’s Tower, and take the final book right off his table.
STEP 15/16
Hunt the Frost Shadow Beast
Travel to the snowy Tundra above the waterfall near the Old Mine, kill the Frost Shadow Beast, and claim its pelt.
STEP 16/16
Deliver the pelt to Cavalorn
Hand the silver pelt to Cavalorn to finish the questline and unlock all remaining rare trophy extraction skills.
Always read the Bestiary volume in your inventory the moment you loot it, as Cavalorn’s dialogue checks will fail to trigger if you hand him an unread book.
While the path to unlocking these skills is linear, several progression locks and bugs can permanently break your save file if you are not careful. The Bestiary questline is deeply intertwined with the main story, meaning a few bad choices can lock you out of unique rewards.
The most common missable element is Volume 2 inside the Old Mine. At the start of Chapter 3, during “The Great Awakening,” the Old Mine floods and collapses entirely. Once this happens, the unlocked chest containing the book is gone forever. If you fail to grab it before the chapter transition, your only fallback is to steal the alternate copy from Wolf’s table in the New Camp, though early players note the exact placement of this copy can be finicky.
Video help
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I don’t read the Bestiary book before talking to Cavalorn?
If you do not read the book in your inventory, the dialogue options to pass Cavalorn’s knowledge test will not appear correctly. You must read the volume to unlock the internal skill checks before speaking to him.
Can I still get Book 2 if the Old Mine collapses in Chapter 3?
No, the unlocked chest inside the Old Mine is permanently lost once the mine floods at the start of Chapter 3. Your only option is to steal the alternate copy from Wolf’s table in the New Camp.
Why is Cavalorn asking for Razor plates but they won’t drop?
This is a known translation bug. The English text incorrectly lists razors, but the German audio correctly mentions lizards and lurkers. Razors will only drop fangs or claws, so you should focus on hunting lizards to fulfill the plate requirement.
Should I give the Queen’s Pheromone Gland to Riordian or Cavalorn?
You must give the gland to Cavalorn to complete the Bestiary questline. Reading it to Riordian for ore or an HP essence permanently locks you out of the Extract Organ skill.
