I need a 'cool/unusual' way to open a secret area...

[HalosNTariff]

Hi, the title says it all really.

I'm making a standard melee map with a couple of extras i.e. you can send units underground. However I like to put secret into my maps which require a bit of skill to figure out. E.g. in one of my previous maps I made an over-powered weapons shop which could only acessed if you destroyed a certain building which was only vulnerable for a short period of time each day.

In this map I have decided to put in a secret Tavern which sells some powerful heroes, the tavern is hidden in the centre of the undergound but there are no passages leading to it, you need to access it from the surface, I've put a large hill with complementary graveyard in the centre of the 'above ground' area for this reason and placed a few creeps on it.

However I need something fairly complicated to unlock a route from the surface to the secret cave. I have a few ideas but I'd like to see what other people think. So if anybody has any suggestions I'd be grateful.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Demonfaze]

How about an invisible, wandering hermit (a creep), who drops a (literal or figurative) key to the cave? The hermit would die very easily; the only hard part is finding it. To make it a little easier (and adding a cool effect in the process) for players, you could loop a soft 3D sound clip at his location that would point players in roughly the right direction.

 

[Charapanga]

Hidden shovel in a Treasure box somewhere, and you have to dig it out?
Need to find a scientist to invent the dynamite and blow up the entrance?
Hire some sucky creeps that can dig out the cave?
Some half-ass item that opens the door when it's near it?

You need something to confuzzle! Maybe a less is more tactic... There are millions of ways to hide a key to a riddle

 

[HalosNTariff]

Thanks, I like the invisible unit idea, I might have him leave footprints behind in the water to aid tracking...

I'll see which ideas work best...

 

[Aida]

A special item was hidden in a tree a long time ago, as time passed, a forest grew, if a player attacks the tree the item will be uncovered. Maybe every time the game starts have the item in a random tree.

(Even could be a random peasant chopping a tree and it falls out)

 

[Faust]

Give that invisible unit 99% evasion and spell immunity