Anybody got any advice as to what kind of character to build for a first-timer? Blasters, Lightsabers, being a Jedi, being a Scoundrel, being a Soldier... they all sound so appealing!

Going fully into either melee or Force powers with your MC makes the game quite easy. If melee, Soldier levels are useful for combat feats and good attack bonus. Two Weapon Fighting and Flurry feats make you into a real blender.

Otherwise, powers like Stun, Disable Droid, Insanity, and Force Lightning are wonderful.

Thanks Geist. I was reading the user manual, all those powers did look cool. I was questioning if they had real value with your character or if they were more just gimmicky, but it sounds like they do have real value. So I may go the non-melee route. I'll review the user manual again with an eye towards that-a-way.

Also... cool Britannia profile pic. I grew up on Ultima!

Haha, yeah, you know you're a real fan when you can recognize what's going on in that extremely cropped image.

Almost every power is good in some way or another. The few I mentioned earlier are especially good, plus Force Healing, Energy Resistance, and Burst of Speed.