There's some decent guides out there if your looking to make a proof of work coin, but the POS code base that has been around tell recently were all a hodgepodge of commits and code states. It really was a mess and had diverged from bitcoin significantly.
Thankfully.. there's now some good options to work from. Particle coin has a recent code base but they've also diverged from BTC with extras they've put in plus they take up an opcode for the staking.. which i wasn't a fan of. So its an options but its further away from bitcoin.
I've been working on a CLAM update to get the client to more recent code base.. segwit, header first syncing, numerous code restructuring improvements while trying to stay as close to bitcoin as possible. Almost done in fact... just some small bugs and testing to do. It syncs, sends coins etc. You can see the code here (im l0rdicon on github as someone stole my xploited nic :( )
https://github.com/l0rdicon/defaultcoin
I've honestly been planning to create a template code base (naimly for my use) when i was done with the CLAM update. Aka strip out anything coin specific.. which sounds like what your looking for. I named that repo with that in mind, just happens its where i started to throw the CLAM updates as well.
As for the logistics of actually making a coin. You don't necessarily have to be a coder... but understanding bitcoin is a necessity imo. You don't have to know everything, that's not even possible.. but if you don't know how transactions / pow / blocks etc work on a somewhat technical level its going to be difficult and you should spend some time there first. This isn't an attempt to dissuade you either just if your really interested and want to do it right you should have some idea of how things work even if you can't code it yourself.
Building the client can be one of the more difficult parts.. assuming you want osx/win/linux clients. If your comfortable with linux that will go a long way into being able to compile. The gitian build system, used to build the bitcoin client will let you compile osx/win/nix all from one system. Its a little tricky to get setup but once you do its great.
I'm more then happy to answer any questions you have.. you can find me in #clams on efnet on IRC for a real time conversation
RE: An intro to all things xploited