I did find 2 of the 3 secret doors in the moat house. but i started new characters and still can't open/find the door to prince thrommel. the secret door in the bone hall way with the skeletons is beyond me as well. i'm using a rogue with a monk. there was another thread that mentioned not finding secret doors, but i can't find it. anyone having similar problems? I'd like to play the game without reverting to elven characters.
You could use a dimension door scroll to get into some places, like Thrommel's room, but then you need to hike to some stairs or teleport to get the party back together again. I always have at least one elf in my party because of that problem. It might have to do with the party as a whole having a low search. When I had the secret door bug, I got the search skill up to 35 with magic items, but I still couldn't find a dang thing, but no one else in my party had any real search skills, and my half-orc had -2. So, that could have been the prob.
Interesting comment. It really seems that there are many skills require at least 1 from person to be triggered. BTW couldn't you use collective search? All efforts should be summed up.