So I dug around a bit and couldn't find any discussions about this.

Normally when you use force pips from the "wrong" side, you have to flip a destiny point and take some strain. This is true for force powers and, I assume, most force talents.

Overwhelm emotions from the FS Exile trees seems to work a bit differently though. Am I understanding things correctly that this talent does not generate force points per se, and always uses all white and black pips rolled, with no strain/conflict/destiny cost?

The alternative would be somewhat odd as that would mean that you could elect not to spend whichever force points that gave you fails. No?

Yeah, it's a weird one, but I believe you are correct about how it is used. FS Exile predates the Morality/Conflict rules, and since you have no choice about how the pips are used, I'd say there's no Strain or DP cost either. You get what you get, and it could easily backfire, so there shouldn't be an additional cost.

If I were running a PC I'm not sure I'd ever use it because the odds of getting the wrong colour pip for the skill is too high. Let's say you try to Charm, with FR1 you have a 1:6 chance of getting help, but a 1:12 chance of blowing it. If you try Coercion you have a 1:2 chance of getting help, but a 1:4 chance of blowing it. Neither seem very appealing to me, unless you were desperate.

Man, I haven't looked at this talent in years! I kept half-remembering it, but getting it confused with the Influence Control upgrade.

Anyway, if you read the description of the talent on page 141, it's better than it sounds at first. When making a "good guy" check, you get a success for each white pip, but a failure for every TWO black pips. Which means that with FR1, you have a 5/12 chance of getting a bonus, and only a 1/12 chance of getting a penalty. That's not too shabby. If you're making a "bad guy" check, you have a 7/12 chance of getting a bonus, and a 3/12 chance of a penalty.

And yes, I agree that it should NOT cause Strain, Conflict, or a Destiny flip. Of course, if you're using Coercion or Deception, there's a good chance you're taking Conflict anyway.

My reading is that double pips only count as negatives for the target skill, they aren't used for positive effect. If double-pips can be used for positive effect, then it's not bad.

From the text: "Each [White pip] adds [Success] to Charm checks." Sounds pretty clear to me that rolling two white pips adds two successes. "However, every [White pip][white pip] add [Failure] to Coercion or Deception checks," also sounds pretty clear. With a higher Force rating, you might roll three white pips and two black, for a net bonus of two successes if it's a Charm check, or a single success if it's a Deception or Coercion check.

Well, that pretty much settles it. Since our current party is pretty devoid of both decent presence scores and social skills, I might as well take the 'emotional detour' while ploughing through the exile tree anyway. Seems a bit less invasive, story wise, than influence as well.