Dungeon Doors

 

Doors in dungeons are usually locked or stuck shut. Most open doors close themselves automatically, unless wedged open with spikes. Doors open automatically for monsters in most cases unless precautions are taken, such as spiking it shut or piling heavy garbage against it.

Anyone may listen at doors to see what might lie beyond. Dwarves, Elves and Hobbits will hear anything going on by rolling a 1 or 2 on 1d6; Men only hear sounds on a 1.  Again, apply your Wisdom modifier.

Breaking a door down or opening a stuck door requires a feat of Strength. Characters must roll under their Strength ability score on a 1d20 to break down a door. A character may only try once (the one roll simulating the entire effort) and takes one Round for someone to try it. Performing such “spot-engineering” creates quite the racket which will draw nearby attention. The Referee will likely check for wandering monsters whenever you decide to try something noisy such as this.

Doors will close behind your band unless you take time to prop them open with iron spikes. Even then, they will close anyway 1/6 of the time (a 1 on 1d6). On the other hand, monsters can pass through doors without trouble and noiselessly! Sometimes it pays to be the bad guy.

Sometimes instead of a door, you will come up against a portcullis or bars. In order to bend iron bars, a character must roll a 6 on 1d6. He adds his Strength Modifier to this kind of roll. Even a weakling succeeds, however, on a natural (unmodified) 6. The Referee may decide you need at least a 6 STR to try to lift a portcullis or bend iron bars.

Some feats of strength like this may be aided by a tool like a crow bar or a miner’s pick. If the Referee agrees, you can gain a +1 (for a 1d6 check) on these kinds of attempts by using the right tool for the job.

Secret Doors: Under normal conditions, searching for secret doors takes one Turn per 2 10' squares searched. Your character finds a secret or concealed door (if one is present) on a roll of 1 on 1d6. Elves can find them on 1 or 2 on 1d6. Apply your Wisdom modifier to this roll.