One thing that struck me in KotOR and KotOR II was that Light Side dialogue options often tended toward charity for charity's sake while the corresponding Dark Side options often came across as being a big jerk, just because you could. I don't really feel that either of these are good representations of the Jedi and Sith codes. Caving to someone's sob story and forking over a bunch of credits is a similar way of falling to your emotions as getting offended and murdering them for asking. Jedi are dispassionate, and I think this is what separates them from the bleeding-heart caregiver echoed by a lot of light side choices. Not that a Jedi would never give credits to a needy soul, but they would do so because they identified a situation where doing so also follows the Jedi Code. If helping someone in need brings harmony to a place where chaos once ruled, then it follows that a good Jedi should help that person. If, instead, one person's ignorance has led them to asking for credits, it could be a teaching moment and a way to bring that person knowledge. In that case, turning them down might be the better option. It is similar with the Sith Code. If two individuals have conflicted in the past and both have called some kind of truce in the present, there is a peace, but it is an obvious lie. Showing the lie for what it is, perhaps by encouraging one party to act on their passions, would be in accordance with the Sith Code. While it may seem that killing one of them would do similarly, and such is likely presented as a Dark Side option, this would actually enforce the false peace by removing the conflict entirely. Nothing was actually resolved and the un-acted upon passions will just trap the survivor in a powerless state. At the end of the day, it's going to come down to an individual's understanding of Locus of Control and whether they feel they are the master of their own destiny or not. Someone who has an external locus of control is going to feel that events "happen" to them and their only way to be free in the Force is to "happen" to others first. This is the chip-on-your-shoulder, narcissistic, self-conscious way and is often expressed in the Dark Side choices presented in the game. On the other hand, the individual who internalizes their Locus of Control is more confident that they are in charge of their own fate and more likely to feel that events happen around them but, whether the events affect them, is completely under their control. I find these are usually the more philosophic dialogue options, that provoke thought in the characters or the player. Bioware pulled this off pretty well in Jade Empire with the Way of the Closed Fist. I recall, early on, you have the option of wiping out some bandits for a mother and daughter who were harassed by them. You can also soften them up a bit and then arm the girl, and encourage her to take justice into her own hands. This is definitely the "Dark Side" option, but it also shows how that option can be used by one empowered individual to teach another that power can be taken, thus empowering the other. Either way you slice it, Light Side or Dark Side, Jedi or Sith, the choices are personal, individual and influenced by the character, their story, the people around them, and their outlook. Whether you want to be the Noble Protector or the Compassionate Giver, both are viable Light Side paths. The choice between being the randomly murderous jerk or the grim mentor falls similarly within the bounds of the Dark Side.