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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DracoSuave" data-source="post: 6500604" data-attributes="member: 71571">If their passive perception is equal to the DC, then you have a skill that has more than a 50% chance to succeed, so unless there are other circumstances such as kobolds shooting them in the kidneys or their cleric-statue being moved on from by a satisfied looking medusa. there's not really a lot to build that tension up to.  There's no point requiring that extra roll that's already likely to succeed.  Tension requires high stakes of failure.  In the case of the secret door, if that secret door is just leading to some stuff, it's not really a high stakes of failure door.  They don't know what's on the other side, so they can't and shouldn't know they lost out on a vorpal blade.  They don't feel the loss--especially if they don't know it was there.On the other hand, your approach works very well when there ARE high stakes--for example, Fredgard the Fighter and Crissygill the Cleric are holding a door closed that's being bashed down by angry angry orcs, while Wesleyhammer the wizard and Rogerhampton rogue puzzle over the outline of a secret door they haven't found a switch for.  What is Randykillgoremaim the Ranger doing?  He's stitching up his wounds, those orcs almost killed him.  The party knows the dwarven designers of this place they're in designed all sorts of secret passages in case of incursion, so that they can do skirmishing and guerilla-tactics.  Now perception rolls have stakes attached--too much time searching and the party's going to be overrun with orcs and likely blood will be spilled.  If they search, then they find the trigger, they may need to figure out how to work it--damaging it means this way is barred forever.Of course, once they open the secret door they might decide to use it to stage an ambush.  Or they might circumvent the encounter entirely.  Or they could leave it open, and hide somewhere else.  Or the rogue could fake tracks to the outline the orcs might see, hide somewhere else, and have the orcs distracted trying to figure out the door.That's how you build tension.</blockquote>

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