The d20 class rules are flexible enough that there isn't much need for specific classes by faction; class determines professional skills. (It's a design principle of d20 that anything focused enough to be faction-specific should be a prestige class. Officers of any military could have Noble levels, for example... when you get right down to it, being a scout or fighter pilot is the same whoever you fight for.) There are some good examples of this scattered across various rulebooks.
That said, the Hero's Guide is the faction-specific-characters book, and has several prestige classes particularly aimed at Imperial characters:
Black Sun Enforcer, Black Sun Vigo, ISB Special Agent and Sienar Engineer.
A few other prestige classes are good matches:
The base military classes: Elite Trooper, Officer, Starship Ace (Main Rulebook)
Bodyguard (in the Ultimate Alien Anthology) or Loyal Protector (Hero's Guide) are good for Imperial / senatorial guards.
Chief Engineer (Hero's Guide) is another likely example.
The Hero's Guide also offers some good example builds for an Imperial Officer using the standard Soldier/Noble/Officer classes. It's probably the best answer to your question, as it also has some relevant feats (Aristocrat's Honor, Combat Veteran, Diplomatic Immunity, Gun Crew Chief, Political Pull, Flight Academy Training, Imperial Command Training) and the faction rules/ideas.
Also, two Pre-RE prestige classes are specifically Imperial: The Emperor's Hand and Imperial Inquisitor (both in the Dark Side sourcebook). Both should work with minimal conversion in RE.
(Also, the Rebellion Era sourcebook obviously has a lot of general information and character templates. No classes though, unless I remember wrongly.)
I didn't think about it in these terms back when I was playing the game in the early 90s, but now it comes to me as coming down to players choosing to embrace or ignore the conventions of the genre.
Limiting the discussion to what is seen in the films, we see Luke quite able to fool with his light sabre the instant it is handed to him, and we see Han able to use one to slice open a Tauntaun on Hoth. The actual use of the weapon is one of manual dexterity. Its use will be somewhat mundane, however, as the user will not be able to do the cool tricks they have seen in the movies.
To use one like a Jedi uses one (prediction, telekinetic throwing, blocking blaster bolts, etc) requires the ability to use the Force.
With these assumptions in place it is hard to say that a character cannot just pick up a light sabre and go. However, in the groups I played the game with, no one did this who was not a Jedi.
Being in Tune with the Living Force (Trust your genre, Luke)
The reason was simply that we felt it was a weapon tied to the Jedi. We felt they were not available on the open market, and we preferred to use weapons we could get better use of. In other words having my Outlaw and the other non-Jedi characters wander around with light sabres did not fit the genre. Sure it was possible, it just wasn't something that was done.
If this is enough of a problem for you that you want to create house rules to prevent it, I would recommend speaking to the players about that directly, and citing how it is not really in the spirit of the franchise. Just because a thing can be done, does not mean it will be done. This is a part of the roleplaying aspect of the game.
Not for sale at any price (Made by hand, custom orders only)
Going beyond what is explicit in the films (although it is referred to by the Emperor), we agreed with the idea that a Jedi makes their own light sabre. Unless they were to lose one in combat, have it stolen, or be defeated and the weapon taken, there was simply no way for one to come into someone else's hands. If this idea is a part of your saga, then it really reduces the likelihood of non-Jedi having them at any point.
This is just a reduction, as if a player wants one badly enough they will go out of their way to nuke the first Jedi or Sith they come across.
Everyone gets cut (Hokey religions and ancient weapons)
If you are not above a little realism in your Star Wars, then the concept familiar to blade students everywhere that 'everyone gets cut' can help limit the field of potential light sabre users to just those who have the courage and the dexterity to do it with a reasonable chance of success.
This also is a means to reduce their use, through fear of personal injury. Although the rules do not support a lot of detail in the death and dismemberment department, this roleplaying aid can greatly enhance the mystique of light sabres and make playing a Jedi worth the hassle.
Guilt by Association (Isn't that a Jedi weapon?)
As the weapon itself is an iconic representation of the Jedi Order, who are outlawed and under an execution order (death by Vader) by the Galactic Empire, drawing attention to oneself through the use of such a weapon can be a great hook to get the story moving into high gear with detention cells, torture, escapes, chases, and other Star Warsian fun~
Consequences for action are nice as they put choice in the hands of the player. Rather than getting into a "I don't want you to do that" situation if that would be a problem in your group, you can limit the use of light sabres simply by making them logically, and socially problematic to use. Luke was willing to draw attention, live away from society, and fight the Empire head on. Plus, he was a Jedi. Are you?
When diplomacy fails (Shut up, Goldenrod)
As with any discord at the table where interests, enjoyments, intentions, and the like come into conflict communication is always the first step in resolving it. The suggestions above are intended to be used in conjunction with establishing what the genre of the saga is, which aspects of Star Wars the whole group wants to explore and which aspects they do not, how much realism there should be in terms of consequence (Luke lost a hand, Ben died, Lando got kissed by that lippy pilot, Chewie never got any pants, every custodian in both death stars was atomized, Jabba was strangled in his own ride, etc), and what play style (mission oriented, sandbox, scenario-based, campaign-based, etc) is to be used.
Each person should contribute ideas about what they do and do not want to be a part of the game - this includes the GM. If non-Jedi using light sabres bothers you to a great degree, express that clearly in the simple terms that it impinges on your ability to have a good time with the setting.
If they counter with 'just wanting to have a cool imaginary toy' and 'what's the big deal, anyway?' you have an impasse.
If the players do not care or think you are going too far in feeling that using an elegant weapon from a more civilized age when not a Force Sensitive is a problem, it might be a good idea to consider their point of view. Their lack of consideration for yours notwithstanding it never hurts to reevaluate your own position.
If you are the GM and you still want to stick to your guns on the issue, then I recommend choosing to continue the game, choosing to keep quiet about them using light sabres unsafely, and follow through on sensible reactions from the universe: NOT vengeful ones; that leads to the dark side. The dark side has no retirement plan.
- Do not allow cool Jedi sabre tricks without the Force. The rules
support you on this.
- If they operate where there are troops or other law enforcement
personnel, and get spotted using light sabres, have them be
investigated within the normal abilities of the NPCs assigned to the
case.
- Do not offer the devices for sale, and put them in the hands of those
who should have them. What happens after that is Story, not Problem.
- If they demonstrate to violent people that light sabres are cool and
they get a reputation for using them effectively, they should come to
expect reasonable counter-measures from the groups who hunt them
(Boba Fett's wrist grappling hook attack) and for the devices to be
looted if they get captured.
If you are not the GM then your options are more limited. If you want to play a by the book Jedi, and you are outclassed by the other characters the traditional approach is to just suck it up (Watch Luke get his butt handed to him by life, the universe and everything in Empire) until they finally get in tune with the living Force. If this does not sound like fun (being the slow starter with a big finish is not everyone's cup of Jawa Juice) then you are really asking yourself if the fun of the game outweighs the frustrations. If no, then don't play. If you are gaming at a con as you say, there is a lot of other stuff to do with fewer hassles.
Closing Music (In this case, the Sandcrawler theme)
In a certain sense, if the group is wanting to build a Star Wars saga of their own, with you in the GM's seat, you have an equal right to contribute to the saga which unfolds as they do. Sometimes that means saying "No" and sometimes that means making compromises. In any event, fun is the name of the game. Star Wars came to us as 'A New Hope' so it doesn't do to let it get you down~
If you are a fellow traveler on a wild ride in a galaxy, far, far away then try to connect with them and appeal to the sense of shared fun. If that fails, consider other options.
Best Answer
To begin with, the D6 space rules actually differ a bit from Star Wars D6. I'm not sure if it matters for this particular question (I haven't fully read through D6 Space), but it's worth being aware of.
This answer is based on the Second Edition, Revised and Expanded rules (Color Millennium Falcon cover; the most recent prior to D6 Space).
Basic Targetting
For ranged, the difficulty is based on the range to your target (page 88). Point-blank is Very Easy, medium range is Moderate, etc.
The actual distance defined as point-blank, medium, etc. varies from weapon to weapon. For example, a Bowcaster is listed as having a range of 3-10/30/50. This means that 0-3 meters is point-blank, 3-10 meters is short range, 10-30 meters is medium range, and 30-50 meters is long range.
For melee, the difficulty to hit is listed on the weapon (page 89). A vibro-ax is a moderate difficulty to hit with. A knife is a very easy difficulty.
Resisting Targets
Characters can use reaction skills to make themselves harder to hit (page 79). This is generally going to be either dodge, melee parry, or brawling parry.
When someone attacks you, but before you know if they hit, you can declare a reaction. This uses either one of your pre-declared actions or can be a new action (your choice). Multiple action penalties apply to the reaction, and if you make it a new action while you have other actions remaining the reaction adds to the multiple action penalty for those additional actions.
The reaction roll replaces your base target number to be hit. Even if it's lower. And it applies to all further attacks of that type in the round. A bad reaction roll can potentially be bad news (although the difficulties in ranged combat are generally pretty low to begin with).
The reaction skills are summarized on pages 89 and 90. Note that dodge is exclusively for ranged attacks and grenades. Ducking out of the way of a knife is brawling parry, not dodge.
Modifiers
There are a few modifiers that apply on top of reaction skill use.
Unarmed vs. Armed -- When armed, attacking or parrying against an unarmed opponent gains a static bonus (melee parry gets +5 vs. unarmed opponents, brawling parry grants armed opponents a +10 bonus). Just add this in when it's appropriate (page 90).
Cover -- Usually if you have cover from one person, you'll have it against everyone. When this isn't the case, you have a few options:
Roll the dodge and cover separately. Keep track of both numbers and apply as appropriate.
Roll the dodge during the first attack. During each attack impacted by cover, have the player roll his cover dice whenever he would otherwise be hit.
If the attacker beats the target number to hit the character (i.e. their dodge in most cases) but misses due to cover, they hit what the character was hiding behind. If it's something that can be damaged, they roll to damage the cover (page 93-94).
Full Reaction
The final piece to the reaction skill puzzle is full reactions. This represents going entirely on the defensive. A full reaction can be the only action taken in the round, but adds the base difficulty to hit to the reaction skill (page 90). Note that a full dodge precludes parrying (and vice versa).