Dungeon Dressing: Secret Doors
Secret doors are prolific in literature and even more ubiquitous in fantasy gaming. Rare is the dungeon crawl that doesn’t feature a handful of cunningly hidden secret doors. The challenge is in making each door a unique experience worth a few moments of wonder instead of just another excuse for a search check.
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Major Features
The secret door has no lock or obvious opening mechanism. Instead, it opens when a small gong nearby is struck two times in rapid succession. Three strikes on the gong closes the secret door.
The secret door is hidden inside a large cupboard, set into its wood-panelled back wall behind several hanging cloaks and coats.
An illusion covers the secret door so that it appears the same as the wall in which it is set.
The secret door is one-way. There is no way to open the door from one side.
The secret door is oddly shaped, being wider at the bottom than at the top.
The secret door is underneath an elaborately woven tapestry depicting a knight in full armour astride a galloping white stallion (or another appropriate scene).
The secret door’s mechanism is well-oiled and opens silently as it slides into the floor.
Immediately behind the secret door is a locked iron portcullis which must be pushed up once unlocked.
Opening the secret door releases a strong gust of wind that extinguishes candles, torches and lanterns.
The secret door is hidden behind natural foliage (vines, bushes, fungus, lichen etc.) grown specifically to conceal it. The first time the door is opened, the foliage must be cleared away.
Decorative, false stained glass windows that appear to have only walls behind them decorate this area. One of the windows is a secret door.
A hidden flight of stairs can be triggered by a secret catch to rise up from the floor.
The secret door, which opens by pulling up on the grate or down on a nearby sconce, is behind a fireplace.
The secret door is through a giant tun, that opens by twisting the tap protruding from the cask.
The secret door is hidden halfway up the wall. Characters must scale the wall to be able to reach the opening mechanism.
A massive grandfather clock tick-tocks as normal, but its hands never advance. If set to a specific time (hour and minute), the body swings open revealing a passageway.
A peephole is inconspicuously drilled through the secret door allowing someone to spy on the other side when a plug is removed.
The secret door is in the middle of a large wall fresco. The fresco depicts a pastoral setting with peasants working in the fields. Careful examination notes small devilish imps hidden throughout the artwork causing trouble such as unhitching horses or setting fire to a haystack. Pushing one of the imps opens the door.
The secret door is tied to another nearby door. Both cannot be open at the same and if one is open when the other opened, it slams shut.
The secret door is protected by a good lock hidden under a flagstone in the floor.
Minor Features & Dressing
“Help Me” is written on the door in dried blood.
There are deep, jagged claw marks on the lower right side of the door.
A tiny spider scuttles out of the tiny gap between the door and its frame.
Some of the mortar comprising the door is a different colour to that in the surrounding wall.
The area beyond the door is two-foot lower than this area; characters must step or jump down into it.
The dungeon occupants do not know this door exists.
The area beyond the door is colder than this area.
Tiny splatters of dried blood mark the door’s location.
The faint smell of wet dog—or some other animal—lingers in the air around the door.
A splintered crossbow bolt lies on the floor.
The door is loosely spiked shut from the other side.
A muffled sound from behind the door gives the characters a clue as to its location.
A discarded water flask lies against the wall.
The bricks or stones comprising the secret door are cooler than those of the nearby wall.
The initials “S.H” along with a date not two weeks ago are carved into the door.
The skeletal remains of a small dog is curled up in front of the secret door. The dog’s nose points toward the secret door.
The secret door is locked. A key fills the lock on the other side of the door.
The secret door is well hidden.
The secret door is exceptionally well hidden.
A character finding the secret door mistakenly believes the door is trapped.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from GM’s Miscellany: Dungeon Dressing. The book is available in 5e, System Neutral and Pathfinder 1 editions. The OSR edition will be available in early 2023.
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