First, can Droid characters be of any degree the player wishes? I think I read somewhere on the forums that PC droids were limited to fourth degree, but I don't see a mention of this limitation in the rulebook. Granted a Class Five sanitation droid might not be the most likely candidate for sentience and independence...

Second, are all PC Gands Findsmen? A Gand Tecnician Mechanic or Colonist Scholar for example do not seem to fit well with the description of Findsmen. Are they simply members of other Gand religious sects? Or are they also Findsmen, albeit operating less traditionally?

Not all Gand characters are Findsmen.

As far as droids, technically it says (or perhaps, at best, suggests) they're fourth degree droids but there's literally nothing to back this up mechanically. You can build a droid to be pretty much any degree you like.

You can make a droid any class/degree you want. It was mentioned in the Order 66 podcast (ep14/15) by the devs and the entire list of classes is in the core rules.

I don't know about the Gand.

There's a Gand Findsman companion in SWTOR that is a member of the Republic Military and is also a demolitions expert. Technically speaking, Findsmen can do their things in a variety of ways.

But Findsmen are rare. You could just as easily be from some other esoteric sect you make up, or just be a Gand that doesn't like Gand society, and you kinda do your own thing.

Droids were listed as 4th degree in the EotE beta, but that was dropped in the actual core release. So yes droids can be of any degree.

While all findsmen need to be gand, not all gand are findsmen.

For PCs the class four types make the most sense since those are the combat capable types. Class 1s are droids like the medical droid that fixed Luke's hand. Class 2s are astromechs and other engineering droids with limited vocal communication (spoken binary is the norm). Class 3s are the protocol droids, nanny droids, etc... and class 5s are the simple labor droids.

Not sure why most players would want to be anything other than a class 4 since the other types work best as NPCs serving the PCs.

Some people's inspiration comes from droids like R2 or C-3P0.

I had a lot of fun playing an Astromech droid in d6 Star Wars. The droid in the beginner game is a medical droid who has become a mechanic, with some weapons acquired along the way.

As for Gands, that is what I figured, but the core book as written made it sound like the only Gamd who leave home are Findsmen. Nothing in e rules required it, just the flavor text seemed slanted that way.

For PCs the class four types make the most sense since those are the combat capable types. Class 1s are droids like the medical droid that fixed Luke's hand. Class 2s are astromechs and other engineering droids with limited vocal communication (spoken binary is the norm). Class 3s are the protocol droids, nanny droids, etc... and class 5s are the simple labor droids.

Not sure why most players would want to be anything other than a class 4 since the other types work best as NPCs serving the PCs.

Our PC Droid is a unique custom-built unit. It's as independent as can be but doesn't really fit the Class 4 role. It has a holdout blaster normally kept in its built-in backpack, but so far it's only used the gun once (and was unsuccessful).

Not sure why most players would want to be anything other than a class 4 since the other types work best as NPCs serving the PCs.

I've got a player that very much enjoyed playing an R6-series Astromech in a prior Saga Edition game, and enjoyed playing an astromech in a EotE one-shot that I ran. And he was a bloody effective PC, even if he only used his built-in blaster once during the entire session. Hell, he was probably more effective during the adventure than the purely combat-focused PCs were.

I'm glad that droid PCs can be of any type and not just Class 4 combat droids.

How might one create a C3P0-style protocol droid as a PC? Specifically, what Career and initial Spec would best represent "C3P0?"

Diplomat ----> Ambassador?

Colonist -----> Politico?

Colonist -----> Scholar?

How might one create a C3P0-style protocol droid as a PC? Specifically, what Career and initial Spec would best represent "C3P0?"

Best: Diplomat ----> Ambassador? I think this one is a great fit.

Worst: Colonist -----> Politico? This one can actually remove Minion groups from combat, not 3POish at all.

Ehhhh: Colonist -----> Scholar? Not very "protocoly" but I get the "over six million forms of communication" aspect.

There are two droids in our EotE game (I play one of them) and they're both completely non-combat. Of course, we're also in a very large (8-9 PC + NPCs) group, so there are plenty of other characters to do the fighting when it occurs. When shooting isn't a very good option, however, you'd be amazed what kind of other actions one can find during a combat scene. During non-combat we often get opportunities to shine, particularly in the chosen role in support of other living characters.

The two droids are, btw:

BS7-SAMI Public Relations Droid turned shopkeeper (Cunning 4, Presence 4, Colonist: Entrepreneur + Trader)

S1-R1 A universal database with Human Interfacing Protocols (Intelligence 5, Colonist: Scholar)

There are two droids in our EotE game (I play one of them) and they're both completely non-combat. Of course, we're also in a very large (8-9 PC + NPCs) group, so there are plenty of other characters to do the fighting when it occurs. When shooting isn't a very good option, however, you'd be amazed what kind of other actions one can find during a combat scene. During non-combat we often get opportunities to shine, particularly in the chosen role in support of other living characters.

The two droids are, btw:

BS7-SAMI Public Relations Droid turned shopkeeper (Cunning 4, Presence 4, Colonist: Entrepreneur + Trader)

S1-R1 A universal database with Human Interfacing Protocols (Intelligence 5, Colonist: Scholar)

The astromech droid in my group loves using environmental effects to assist his fellow ship mates. Especially dropping chandeliers on bad guys.