Species
The Star Wars world is dominated (possibly literally) by 'humans'. Sure, this is probably mainly to help the SFX budget, but it is still what we see.
Humans are also the easiest to play, since we have some understanding of how they work. I usually want my 'aliens' to be alien, not just people with different coloured skin or pointy ears, but I am not sure how feasible that is in Star Wars.
I suggest we lean towards human, or humanoid or humanish characters, but we can talk about trying to make anything you want work. We can use the books and wikis for guidance about what they are like, but this is mainly about the narrative, so tell your story with that character rather than statting them out mechanically. Support that story with the mechanics, as needed. See Below.
Dice
Here is how the dice might work (these are the rules for 2400):
Skills (and these probably include 'Force Powers') are a d6, if you are trained in that skill it is a d8, or, later, maybe even a d10 or a d12.
If you can't reasonably do a thing without training, you can't do it. Maybe, based on the fiction, you might be able to try it, but you might roll a d4 because you are Hindered by lack of familiarity. Do it enough and you could become 'familiar' and can roll a d6 (or get even better).
If you are Hindered —by circumstance, by injury, by exhaustion, or anything else that makes sense in the fiction— you roll a d4 for your Skill die (no matter what value that die has, it does not step down (we can chat if we don't like this, but it actually works, so I stick with it)). A sprained ankle, for example, will Hinder your Running, but won't Hinder your Typing.
If you are Helped —by circumstances, preparation, or the perfect tool, maybe— you roll an extra d6 (always a d6).
If you are Helped by another player, they roll their relevant Skill die and share in the risk.
If you are Helped by a Force Power, roll that die in addition to the Skill die you are using (either of which may be Hindered).
• In addition to any already existing Risks, add the Risk of being found out (or tick a 'Hunter Clock', maybe, as appropriate).
Use the single highest die, if it is a:
• 1–2 Disaster. Suffer the full risk. GM decides if you succeed at all. If risking death, you die.
• 3–4 Setback. A lesser consequence or partial success. If risking death, you're injured.
• 5+ Success. The higher the roll, the better.
• If success can't get you what you want (maybe you make the shot, but they're bulletproof!), you'll at least get useful info or set up an advantage.
• Defense: Say how one of your items breaks to turn a hit into a brief hindrance. Broken gear is useless until repaired.
• Harm: Injuries require time and/or treatment to heal.
Skills
It is not required, but I suggest reading the 2400 RPGs, various ones have things that can guide us.
Take, for example, their handling of 'Skills':
• Choose or invent Skills. For example: Climbing, Connections, Deception, Hacking, Electronics, Engines, Explosives, Forgery, Hand-to-hand, Intimidation, Labor, Machinery, Persuasion, Piloting, Reading People, Running, Sailing, Shooting, Singing, Sleight of Hand, Spacewalking, Stealth, Swimming, Tracking, ...
Specifically note the 'choose or invent', and then some examples. We don't need to use this list, think about what sort of 'skills' you would like to see in Star Wars and we can try make that happen.
Or we might use more general ones like: Biology, Psychology, Technology, Physics, ...
We can decide how granular we want to go, or how broad each skill should be. We could adjust later, if needed.
I also propose a 'smell test' when something needs to be done. Let's say, for instance, you need to 'pick a lock', but you don't have the Pick-Locks Skill:
If all you have is Diplomacy and Shooting, even though you are really good at both, you simply can not try picking a lock (or you can't roll dice for it, you can always narrate trying as much as you like if that is what your character would do:).
If, on the other hand, you have both Mechanic, and Watchmaker... well, we can assume you can work out how to pick a lock (and probably even manufacture suitable tools). The exact dice will depend on many things.
If, on the other hand (wait, how many hands do you have!!?), you have high Mechanic, but that is 'diesel engine mechanic' (might be Engines... who knows), that probably does not translate well to delicate actions like picking locks, maybe you can try roll, but you are Hindered by your 'big, dumb hands'.
In the cases where you can roll, you might be Helped by your Force Sense die, or other factors based on the fiction.
The Force
I am inclined towards making 'The Force' be just another set of Skills. You would buy them the same as you buy/upgrade any other skill. Bear the fiction in mind for how you can explain learning new things, and remember that time spent honing your Force Skills is time not spent honing your regular Skills.
The Force is meant to be cool, so it may overshadow other Skills, but it comes with higher risks. We will do what we need to 'balance' this to keep it fun.
I invite you all to suggest Force Skills that you would like to see, even if you don't have them at the start. We can slowly build a list. Please don't copy/paste a list from another RPG. Let's focus on the ones we care about at the start.
You were still learning when you were separated from your teachers and the temple. So you may only know the basics and need to find out how to learn more. We can decide together how much you know.
Starting Characters
Maybe we will start with 3 points to allocate to Skills (including Force Powers). Maybe 4 points? We can see how the characters shape up and adjust.
You can use a 'point' to raise a Skill from nothing to a d8, or to raise a d8 to a d10, or a d10 to a d12. d12 is as high as it goes, and it seems foolish to focus that high at the start.
Most Skills are d6 if you have not invested points in them, but some things need training/experience before you can even try them. Raising a Skill to d8 implies such training, tell us how.
