So, I'd like do discuss what happens when a force wielder uses the opposite side of the force ( ie flips a DP to convert black pips, or white if you are a darksider).

What are the causes and consequences in terms of character emotions, or reactions ?

For a light side force user, it is quite easy to imagine how despair, anger or hate can make a character tap into his emotions to gain more power.

But what happens narratively when a darksider does the opposite ? What pushes him to do so, how does he feels while doing so ?

How would you as a GM (or a player !) describe this ?

TL;DR : how to RP a darksider using white pips ?

I would treat it like a purifying force so the anger, the rage is being burned from the darkside user.

1 minute ago, MrTInce said:

I would treat it like a purifying force so the anger, the rage is being burned from the darkside user.

So it would be the Force offering its help to the character with some "light side energy", rather than him using it ? Is that what you meant ?

1 hour ago, AbsatSolo said:

So it would be the Force offering its help to the character with some "light side energy", rather than him using it ? Is that what you meant ?

Something like that. As Obi-wan says the force flows through all living things.

2 hours ago, AbsatSolo said:

So, I'd like do discuss what happens when a force wielder uses the opposite side of the force ( ie flips a DP to convert black pips, or white if you are a darksider).

What are the causes and consequences in terms of character emotions, or reactions ?

For a light side force user, it is quite easy to imagine how despair, anger or hate can make a character tap into his emotions to gain more power.

But what happens narratively when a darksider does the opposite ? What pushes him to do so, how does he feels while doing so ?

How would you as a GM (or a player !) describe this ?

TL;DR : how to RP a darksider using white pips ?

Well it would depend heavily on the context of the moment, and the power being used, but some kind of common descriptions I would likely use would be things like:

That feeling you get when you are blistering hot from a hot summer day's worth of exertion, and having a long draw of an ice cold drink. That feeling of spreading coolness, washing through you, instantly quelling that feeling of uncomfortable heat, being replaced with genuine relief.

Having that feeling when your mind is really hectic and chaotic, and you have that moment of genuine calmness, when the thoughts sort of fall away, and your brain has a second to catch it's breath.

That feeling of comfort when someone you genuinely care for and love, embraces you to provide you with comfort during a hard moment, or a bad day. When you sort of let the tension flow out of you, and just bury your face in their neck, close your eyes, and let the problems melt away, while you focus on the feeling of them in your arms.

That feeling as a child, when one of your parents would hold you, and make all the scary things go away.

That feeling you get when you are freezing cold, shaking and shivering, and suddenly have a warm, heated blanket draped over your body, or finally get in front of a heat source. That feeling of the soothing warmth, flowing up from your extremities to your core, chasing away the cold, and that feeling of relaxation as your muscles stop their violent shivering with the reintroduction of heat.

I would try and tailor the description based on the power being used a lot. For example, if the power in question is a physical based power (Enhance for example), I would probably use the feeling of cold when overheated, or warmth when freezing descriptions. If you are using some kind of mental power, describing it in more emotional flavors would probably be fitting. If the PC has a significant person in their backstory, perhaps link the description to that person. Like, if you describe the feeling of the Light side washing over them, as like a warm heat, coupled with the sound of a woman's gentle laughter, hint that it might sound like a favored memory from childhood. A sibling's laugh as they played a game. Or perhaps it sounds like someone humming gently, and maybe it's their mother, who would hum softly while doing chores when they were a child, and they have a memory of such a scene. Them playing games as a child on a quiet afternoon, the sound of their mothers humming, filling the house, making them feel safe and at peace.

Stuff like that

Anger and rage tends to cloud your brain. You react to situations in violent ways. It's not hard to imagine how that works.

A darksider tapping into the lightside would perhaps be having a moment of clarity. They are, in this moment, clear in intent and emotion. They are at peace and are acting with true purpose instead of reacting out of hate and rage.

I always opt for you start off using whatever matches your character's alignment but it's not enough. You feel the pull from the opposite side, either you feel your emotions swelling or you feel yourself more calm and focused. Keeps it short and simple and if the player wants to go further like with what emotions or what memory calmed them down then they can do so

I feel that when a dark sider is spending lightside pips, they are simply trying much harder. Unless they are actively rejecting the darkness (only using Lightside pips with the destiny spend), if a character is primarily drawing on the dark side then they shouldn't really be feeling anything else, they are just using more power then the dark side is willing to give them so they start viciously tearing at the fabric of reality around them to give them more.

Though yeah, those narrative touches suggested in attempting to redeem, moments of clarity amidst an emotional storm. I would actually argue that it would initially be traumatic connecting to the force, almost as if their strength they felt so powerfully just seconds ago leaves them; making them feel naked and afraid like a drug addict coming down from a high; they need to learn to operate without that addictive seductive strength.

Wait, don't they always have to flip a DP to use light side points?

1 hour ago, Archlyte said:

Wait, don't they always have to flip a DP to use light side points?

RAW yes.

I forgot to include this rule and so didn't in my current (and first) campaign. Next time I will.

This is an interesting question, one that apparently took me a week to be able to form an opinion on, cuz I have been thinking about it every day that I've been on the forum and seen that thread title since it popped up.

Ultimately I think the answer, to me, has to track back to "Why does using the Lightside Strain a Darkside used?"

And about the only answer I can see to that question is, it's because of a Darksiders relationship, with not only the Force but, with life is one of dominating and controlling it - it's one of might equals right.

And when you use the Lightside of the Force, you are adhering to the Will of the Force. You're letting the Force so what it wants to do.

So it causes Darksiders Strain, because they're giving in to the Force, and perceive it as weakness in themselves, and that's distressing.

So, there's a good bit about this in the Shadows of the Empire novel.

Darth Vader is trying to use the Dark Side to repair his damaged body, so he can breathe without his suit. He's making progress, focusing on his rage and hate and willing his lungs to inflate and absorb oxygen. And he breathes in unaided, and is so happy at his success he loses the focus on the Dark Side that was enabling it, and his effort falls apart.

Now, this is an extreme version, since he was trying to do something very difficult (and something the Dark Side isn't all that good at, healing) but you could see using Light Side pips in a similar way. Just like a Force User drawing on the Dark Side is momentarily overcome with raw passion, a Dark Sider using the Light Side could be having a moment of simple, pure joy, feeling suddenly and unusually protective of a comrade when it's of no benefit to him. . . there's a lot of possibilities based on the character and exactly why they're a Dark Sider.

You could describe to your player that as they reach out to embrace the Force, the swirling storm of emotions inside them dissipates unexpectedly. It's almost like they're seeing their emotions from the outside now, and what seemed so unfair or frightening seconds ago now seems to merely be .

Looking to the Jedi Code for inspiration, you could describe how the PC's storm of emotions gives way to peace, their passion transmutes into serenity, and the chaos of their mind gives rise to harmonious contemplation.

To me it depends, if they are using ONLY light mabe it is something like we see here. If they are still using the dark side I personally do not describe the light flowing into them instead I describe how they concentrate harder and bend the force to their will corrupting the light the force is not their ally, it is their slave.

Pretty much. If they are using Lightside and Darkside pips I wouldn't provide any narrative boon at all, they are just simply trying much harder. One of the strongest themes of star wars is characters can only be redeemed if they want to be because it is possibly the hardest thing to do. Vader had a personal anchor to reject the dark and that decision of self sacrifice ultimately cost him his life, but Dooku and Sidious were beyond redemption and simply didn't want to be redeemed I knew one PC who stopped on the threshold of falling after barely crossing the line and saw another PC go bezerk and knew they didn't want to go that way, so against all the odds he spent months recovering from the dark blight that settled within his soul and eventually came out of it a stronger man, not the angry boy that fell.

There are some good narration examples of just using LS pips.