One roll can answer two different questions
In the Star Wars roleplaying game that uses narrative dice, a roll does not produce just one verdict. Its symbols track whether an action succeeds and what else happens along the way. Successes cancel failures; advantages cancel threats. The two pairs are read separately, so a roll can end with both a success and a threat—or a failure and an advantage.
That makes the blast-door hack a natural outcome, not a contradiction. The smuggler gets the door open, but the remaining threat gives the Game Master a reason to introduce trouble: perhaps the system sends an alarm or reveals the crew’s location. The roll settles the technical goal while leaving room for consequences.
The dice pool makes the outcome
Players build a pool from custom dice, adding dice for their character’s abilities and the challenge’s difficulty. Each die has symbols rather than numbered faces, and the symbols from the whole pool are combined. Opposing results cancel within their category; any symbols left over shape the final result.
Some faces add larger, special results. A Triumph contributes a success and can bring an especially beneficial effect; a Despair contributes a failure and can introduce a serious complication. These symbols add texture without replacing the basic success-and-consequence structure.
Why the complication matters
The system gives the Game Master a concrete prompt instead of requiring every roll to end in a clean pass or fail. A successful action can move the story forward while raising the stakes; a failed action can still produce an advantage the characters can use. The dice do not dictate the exact scene—the Game Master interprets the remaining symbols in context—but they make mixed outcomes part of the rules.
So the door can swing open at the same moment the stormtroopers learn where to look. The crew gets what it wanted, and the next scene gets harder.
