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Message: <blockquote data-quote="N'raac" data-source="post: 6235060" data-attributes="member: 6681948">I don't think that's automatic. The Elf character walks along all the walls repeating "I'm looking for secret doors" gives us an unlimited resource. If we're prepared to take the time, he can even Take 20 on all those search checks.The caster must announce he is casting the spell or using the wand, and then gets 1 minute per level (likely one minute to keep the wands cheap), spend several rounds directing his 60' conic area to discern whether any doors are in range, then walk to the next area he wants to check. I figure he likely gets a 60' radius with each casting (likely with enough time to locate and discern trigger mechanisms) out of each wand charge, and he knows for sure whether there was a door in the area, but we're spending a resource the elf could manage at no cost, all day long.More to the point, a steady chant of "Use the Detect Wand" seems unlikely to be more warmly greeted by the GM than a steady stream of "I look for secret doors as I walk past the wall".I think removal of the passive nature of the elf's ability just makes it annoying to everyone at the table if he wants to use it - and I believe the player is not out of line wanting to use the character's abilities to best effect.If elves or magic are common, they have no trouble finding secret doors.  I'd expect they would be used in areas where elves are not prevalent and magic would not often be cast - a secret door in the royal palace would be less often sought out.  Of course, many buildings in game fall into disuse and end up dungeon environs where such searches are much easier.  Why do so many people put those little locks on their luggage?  Who would they actually keep from accessing the contents?  And how often are the contents more valuable than the suitcase holding them anyway?</blockquote>

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