Hello fellow Dungeoneers. First time post. I have a question about secret doors. If someone finds a secret door and moves on do they have to search for that secret door again (pick a search card) on their way back? Because the game can be so tough we've house ruled that if it's the same person that went through it the first time than no they don't have to search again but if it's another person then yes they have to search.

Your idea makes sense, if everyone can remember where their personally discovered S.D.s were. Dungeonquest has to be kept simpler than that, so yes, by the standard rules, returning to the same room later does require searching for a S.D. again.

I see a project for you there JC!

How about a nice little "open door" token which denotes when a secret door has been found and left ajar...?

That way others can then use it too...

Of course, you can always assume that the deadly castle is actively trying to kill you so seals the edges of the door so it cannot be easily found again!

We have had this discussion as well. We ended up with the conclusion that finding the hatch to open the hidden from the other side need you to search for it... You know the door is there, but where is that freaking hatch that opens it!!!!

- SC

I'm with Stormcaller. Even if you find the secret door, it shuts after you use it... and now you're on the other side and have to find another switch on the way back. And oh no, Jon, I don't need anymore half finished projects right now.

Heh. I know what you mean...

I know I've planted a seed though!

Thanks guys for all the advice and points!

talismanisland said:

Well, sort of... but I still haven't revise enough of the game to get my people back to the table for it.

PS. Others have raised this secret door issue in the past, and it's always been hard to explain. Different people have different takes on how to justify it. But I have yet to come up with something (and don't want to) for why monsters now just sit there on board if you don't kill them and everyone in the dungeon instantly knows where they are. Time to try going back to the original monster cards with all the monsters statistics in one place... then bye-bye monster tokens.

this came up for us too in our first game and we handled it in true roleplaying style, we said that another search is needed as perhaps there is no way back, perhaps the opening mechanism has been busted up on this side of the door, or the door mechanism is something different or hidden in a different way.

think of the scene in Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom when Indy and Short Round find the secret door, and once they go through the spike trap is sprung and they can't find any way to get out.