As heroes explore certain scenarios, they may encounter obelisks (or oracles in Heroes of Might and Magic IV) on the adventure map. Visiting an obelisk unmasks part of the scenario's puzzle map, a jigsaw-like image displaying the location where the game's buried artifact is located. The more obelisks visited, the more of the puzzle map is unveiled: when enough obelisks are visited and the map is entirely revealed, an X marks the spot where a hero must dig to obtain it. The player can attempt to guess at the location of the treasure before unveiling the entire map, and once it is found, the puzzle map and obelisks become obsolete for the scenario.