Clues to indicate secret door?

[DMBrendon]

I don't like letting my players have their characters automatically detect secret doors by say, having an elf just walk past them, but I'd like to provide some clues in the local area that they could pick up on to indicate to them that it would be worth investigating further. One of the maps for the adventure I'm currently running (in an old mine) has a secret door at one of the 90 degree turns in a corridor.

In a room I could pretty easily give them some sort of clue that the wall was a bit funny, but at just a turn in an otherwise featureless corridor? I'm struggling a bit. Any ideas on how I can indicate the something is awry, without just putting up a "Secret Door Here" sign?

 

[howandwhy99]

Location & History are the big ones.

If you're mapping and notice that should be a space in that tower level not yet accounted for, then PCs start checking the walls around it. This rewards good mapping and can be rewarded with treasure (or a monster and treasure if you want )

Location also matters in terms of what is in the area. If there is all this furniture and other paraphernalia for living, then someone might have a hidden cache (like a secret safe/locked chest).

If you know the dwarves built these empty rooms as living quarters, you might want to check for secret compartments too - even though it's all empty and abandoned now and no one's been their for centuries.

Doors might swing out too, so odd open spaces on the floor in a room layout can spell potential secret exits. Large furniture, like wardrobes, can nicely conceal a door (so not secret), which changes the boring, expected concealed door by a tapestry. Try pictures too a la "Shawshank Redemption".

So History I kind of touched on already, but that's a big one too. If you know that somebody hid something in a specific location, then you're going to go searching. That might meaning the beginning of the movie "Holes" or it could be living in that haunted mansion to find the treasure. Either way, sometimes other people just looking for treasure or mucking about unsaid can be a clue.

Treasures maps are treasure too (when not wild goose chases). These include me simply telling you stuff as well. And some "digging" is normally required where X marks the spot.

 

[jaerdaph]

Over time, the secret door would eventually leave scratch marks on the floor from regular use (like an arc-shaped groove), even if the floor is made of stone.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That depends on the amount of use and the skill of the craftsmen- I've seen a couple of RW secret doors that didn't touch the floor at any part of their traverse.

However, even the best craftsmen have to obey physics- a gap may allow light or a breeze to escape, betraying the door's presence. Or a hidden latch may show unusual wear, like one brass fixture being bright & shiny from touching while all others are tarnished.

Or, similar to the door's traverse, a flagstone passing under the secret door may become so worn by the passage of feet that a groove gets worn in it- like the stairs at the Acropolis- creating a visible gap.

 

[Scott DeWar]

A breath of air from the corner (sorta I Jones)

 

[grodog]

In a room I could pretty easily give them some sort of clue that the wall was a bit funny, but at just a turn in an otherwise featureless corridor? I'm struggling a bit. Any ideas on how I can indicate the something is awry, without just putting up a "Secret Door Here" sign?

Some other ideas not mentioned yet:

- stone or other surface could be somewhat discolored or the secret door doesn't quite match the wall surface (so you can do this with color, or texture: perhaps the secret door area is smoother, or rougher, or slightly oily, or whatever)

- the environment around the secret door could be cleaner: not necessarily the door itself, but the floor/wall area, due to occasional usage (which would mean the floor/walking area is clearer [or that a gelatinous cube had recently passed through ], or that there aren't any cobwebs handing from the ceiling, etc.

- the trigger mechanism could have all of these features, but be not in immediate sight of the secret door: so, the PCs find the trigger, and trigger it, but don't see the secret door immediately but then start to look around in the vicinity to see where it is, of course; it could be on the other side of a wall, or it could be a multi-part trigger (two triggering mechanisms to open it, or if you use only one of the triggers perhaps the secret door opens to a different location; or, perhaps the trigger is just time-delayed )

- small rocks/pebbles could be scattered in the area, from where small stones or other pieces of dungeon flotsam were crushed in the opening mechanism/hinges/whatever

Some more obvious clues could include:

- PCs hear some recurring noise from the area on the other side of the secret door (dripping, wind moaning, wind chimes blowing, etc.)

- tracks lead right up to it

- someone marked the secret door with graffiti, blood, a symbol, etc. (but the PCs still need to find the opening mechanism)

- earlier in their explorations, the PCs hear about some distinctive feature near a secret door, and when they eventually find this feature (or at least what they assume is the same feature...), they commence searching for the secret door and its trigger

 

[grodog]

If you're mapping and notice that should be a space in that tower level not yet accounted for, then PCs start checking the walls around it. This rewards good mapping and can be rewarded with treasure (or a monster and treasure if you want )

This is one the two best reasons to map accurately (and not just with a trailing or descriptive map); the other reason is, of course, so you don't get lost, or to get found when you do get lost (by recognizing the areas you've mapped before).

Location also matters in terms of what is in the area. If there is all this furniture and other paraphernalia for living, then someone might have a hidden cache (like a secret safe/locked chest).

The position of furniture or other obstacles can also be a subtle clue to the location for a secret door: a table or large chest against a wall may mean that the secret door is above floor level, or that there's a secret trap door in the ceiling; a "path" through a very cluttered area (imagine your average attic...) could be to allow passage to/from a secret door, etc.

Treasures maps are treasure too (when not wild goose chases). These include me simply telling you stuff as well. And some "digging" is normally required where X marks the spot.

Adventurers should, in general, have a shovel, crowbar, and 5' steel rod in the party, in addition to the usual 10' poles, large sacks, marbles, caltrops, and the rest. The shovel to dig, the crowbar as a lever, and the steel rod to hold a shifting wall or crushing ceiling open for a round or two.

However, even the best craftsmen have to obey physics- a gap may allow light or a breeze to escape, betraying the door's presence.

Or light, or sounds, or a smell, too: always fun to hit all five senses!

 

[Mark CMG]

I don't like letting my players have their characters automatically detect secret doors by say, having an elf just walk past them, but I'd like to provide some clues in the local area that they could pick up on to indicate to them that it would be worth investigating further.

Here's one of three tables on secret doors in 30 Things Can Happen!



A. Slightly Hidden Results

1) A curious stone is protruding from the wall.

2) A gap in the wall denotes a false entrance near an actual secret door.

3) A hole the size and shape of a fist and about six inches deep hides a wooden button.

4) A lever made of iron and covered in blood is angled upward two feet above the floor.

5) The hilt of a sword protrudes from the stone wall.

6) A rusty chain dangles nearby with a skeletal arm in a shackle at the end.

7) Scrape marks on the floor giveaway a concealed, closed portal.

8) Broken lockpicks lie on the ground near a wall with a number of small holes.

9) The dust along one side of the area is disturbed in a sweeping pattern.

10) A sconce on the wall is twisted downward.

 

[DMBrendon]

Wow, some great ideas here. In my scenario the door hasn't been used for a long time because the current inhabitants haven't found it. That makes things a bit more complicated, but now I've got a lot more that I can work with.

 

[Janx]

Note that the moment you describe the area differently than other rooms, players will probably get suspicious and start looking. It is very tricky to include clues that don't stand out as "he never described the last 20 rooms in as much detail...."

That said, here is a list of tell-tale signs of a secret door

• scuff marks on the floor by the wall from the door swinging past
• disruption in the dirt on the floor by the wall from the door swinging past (or feet)
• a slight breeze detectable in feathers or candles from the door
• slight wearing on the edge of the door where it closes, showing up as a line on the wall
• smoothness on the trigger mechanism from frequent use, unlike other objects in the room
• somebody ran into the room before you, and vanished. There's no other exits
• if you turn out the lights, you might light from the other side of the door via a crack