Q: Can Force Grip be used against droids or objects? In the Clone Wars cartoon series, Mace Windu seems to dismantle a battle droid with the Force, and at least one blaster rifle seems to be crushed by Asajj Ventress. That sure looks like Force Grip.

A: Given the evidence of the Clone Wars cartoon series, I'm updating a previous unofficial ruling: You can use Force Grip against droids and objects. Mace Windu's "instant disassembly" against one battle droid is a good example of the many forms Force Grip might take -- crushing a larynx, squeezing the heart, or, in this case, pulling out all the nuts and bolts. (This is clearly beyond the scope of Move Object or Force Strike.)

Q: Related question: If you use Force Grip against a droid or object, should you still get a Dark Side Point? It doesn't seem like Mace Windu would use it if this were the case.

A: As I mentioned above, a previous ruling said that Force Grip only worked against living beings, and that's what they had in mind when they labeled it a dark side Force skill. Optional rule: When using Force Grip against a droid or object, you do not gain an automatic Dark Side Point. (You should still consider Force Grip a dark side skill for all other purposes, however, even if you decide to use this optional rule in your game.)

Q: Okay, given what you've said, why do Force Strike and Force Grip still incur an automatic Dark Side Point when used against a living target? They're not "unnatural," and even Yoda seems to use Force Strike against Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith. Given that he is probably the best model for proper Jedi behavior, why would he be inclined to gain Dark Side Points so casually?

A: You're right: He does appear to use the Force Push application of Force Strike against Palpatine, at least when he knocks him across a desk on the other side of the room. Given this and the fact that Move Object is not subject to this "automatic Dark Side Point" provision, I believe that this is best implemented as official errata (which, of course, you could always ignore for your own game):

Errata

Force Strike and Force Grip do not incur automatic Dark Side Points, even when used against living targets. Instead, they fall under the provision that using the Force to cause harm is a "common transgression" (page 181 of the revised Star Wars Roleplaying Game rulebook) such that the GM should "seriously consider" giving the character a Dark Side Point. Force Grip should still be considered a dark side skill for all other purposes (for example, meeting prestige class prerequisites or for bonuses gained by tainted or dark characters) because it is extremely aggressive and thus very easily channels negative emotions.  

This doesn't mean that it's now acceptable to use Force Strike and Force Grip indiscriminately. Using the Force to cause harm is something that a Jedi shouldn't even consider unless that choice would actually cause the least possible harm. For example, Luke apparently used Force Grip on the Gamorrean guards in Jabba's palace, but pulling out his lightsaber and attacking arguably would have been much worse because it would have killed the guards and almost certainly started a huge fight, ultimately leading to considerably more death and destruction. Quietly incapacitating the guards to get by them was probably less harmful than the alternative. Even then, Luke's GM would have been entitled to give him a Dark Side Point for this -- after all, Luke could have used Affect Mind on them, as he did on Bib Fortuna. Exactly how strict you want to be with common transgressions is up to the individual GM.