hennebeck said:
So what do you all do when your party just isn't finding the secret doors?
Nothing.
So far my group has walked past 4. FOUR.
Which prompts the question, why did you design your dungeon with secret doors? What purpose are they serving?
Do you try to steer them at all?
No.
Do you allow them to linger just a bit longer in a room hoping they might check that area intently so you can give them another roll?
No.
Do you make the DC a 10 just so they make sure to find it?
No.
How secret are your secret doors?
Pretty darn secret.
I use secret doors for the following reasons:
a) Versimilitude: Often times a location that the PC's are to explore is fairly well known to locals. Generally the location is often centuries old and presumably could have been visited by many many passing adventurers who may well have had greater skill than the players. And yet, I also want that location to contain secrets and in particular valuable treasures. How can I accomplish this in a way that doesn't just feel like I'm handing out treasure? Secret doors are one answer, and if the secret door is easy to find then it doesn't serve its purpose. I want the player to be able to think, "It's no wonder that no one ever found this place before."
b) Puzzles: Finding a well hidden secret door often involves more than just taking a search check in every 5' section of wall. Often there are clues to its location and various tasks that must be performed in order to find the door. A really good example of both this and 'a' above in a published module is the 'The Whispering Cairn'.
c) Challenges: Sometimes I want NPCs to be able to move about the dungeon in ways that the PCs find baffling. Sometimes I want players to pay for taking straight forward and obvious approaches. This increases the tension in a dungeon, and allows me to use lower CR monsters to challenge players than I might have been able to otherwise.
d) Plot devices: Sometimes I just want enemies to be able to escape to fight another day.
In many ways, secret doors are like traps. The majority of them need to be placed in places where players will expect to look for them and find them. Always think to yourself, "Why did the builder of this <whatever> consider hiding this door so valuable that he paid extensive sums to do it?" However, its alot easier to get away with a few random secret doors than it is random traps, if you remember that any secret door in a non-obvious place should not be absolutely critical to success.
Above all, finding a secret door should be fun. It should lead to something interesting or an interesting discovery. Secret doors help do the whole 'sense of wonder' thing.