[Alcina]

There's nothing to stop a Darksider charging everything with lightsabers blazing just like a Lightsider, but by far the easier option is to rely on your Force Powers.

The simplest way is just to Force Lightning everything you see; Lightning does a fair amount of damage, and, most importantly, a save against it merely reduces the damage by half, whereas things like Choke can be negated entirely. Once you get to L18 and can take the third level of this power (Force Storm) you'll be pretty much set.

I don't usually go for a consular; the consular gets extra FPs, but you really only need about 10 picks altogether, so it doesn't matter. I would go for a Sentinel for the extra skill per level he gets. When assigning points I would leave STR and DEX at a very low level (even keep them at 8), but I'd make CON quite high in order to equip decent implants. Mostly, though, I'd put points into WIS and CHA.

Bear in mind you will find Peragus a bit of a challenge (you'll need to run for it while your FPs regrow) but later in the game you'll sail through. Don't worry too much about mastery, BTW. Except for guardians, the Dark Side rewards for Mastery are RUBBISH. Sentinels get poison resistance (like poison hurts anyway!) and Consulars get +50 FPs (which will make no difference, as with that class you'll have more FPs than you know what to do with long before you can get mastery!)

PS. I would always be a male character for DS, because it's practically impossible to get any INF with the Disciple without getting LSPs too, whereas the Handmaiden likes loads of DS things. and you can get INF in lots of neutral ways, too. If I did play female, I would try to get maximum NEGATIVE influence if I wanted to Jedify the Disciple; it's way easier!

PPS. The optional character you het if you are Darkside is quite possibly the best NPC in the game; he can give you several boosts to your stats as a reward for influence.