BOSS...

[garhkal]

The imperial bureau of ships and spacers...

How hard would it be to forge ones paperwork for ship ownership/legality of weapons etc on it./??

How long would it take for an inspector to get conformation that the info is 'coshier'? What would the fine be for it NOT??

How hard would it be to actually get into BOSS's computers to input those forged paperwork??
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Argamoth]

On account that I have no idea of who/what you're talking about, I'd say just make some numbers up.

[Gry Sarth]

I know there was some book that went into good detail on BOSS and forging papers and transponders. Now, I just can't remember which was it. Platt's Starport Guide? I will check it out....
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"He's Gry Sarth, of course he has the stats for them."

[Endwyn]

The easist way is to "double register" your ship under a second set of transponder codes. So long as your ship can switch back and forth you will have completely legit paperwork for the "hot code" and the one you use when you need to be discrete.
_________________
Luke, I am your father.
That's impossible!
And Leia is your sister!
That's improbable?
And the Empire will be destroyed by..EWOKS!
That's...highly unlikely.
The Force? Bacteria called midichlorians.
If you don’t take this seriously I'm out.

[gollummen]

There are information on BOSS in Platts starport guide
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All stats 2D, except: brawling parry: versus boxing 2D+2, melee combat: swords 3D, melee parry: swords 2D+2, languages: english 2D+1, scolar: history 3D, scolar: social studies 2D+1, brawling: boxing 2D+2, computer programming/repair 2D+1.

[Orgaloth]

Cracken's Rebel Field Guide has a lot of info on the BoSS
_________________
"I take orders from just one person: Me!"

"You know, sometimes I amaze even myself."
Du Cass' Dream

[garhkal]

[Endwyn]

The reason I recomended you "double register" your ship and have a second transponder code instaled is because Imperial procedure is to identify the ship using it's transponder code (think constantly transmited license plate #). The empire pays big bucks to BOSS to have a complete list of private vessels - if the empire doesn't have you on record then your ship either isn't registered or they haven't gotten the updated BOSS list....but that excuse could only be used for new ships (think about it like a temp plate being ignored......but a 76 clunker w/ new car temp tags looks odd.) For the empire not being in the BOSS registry is enough reason for them to pull you over and search your ship.

Now, not every area would have the "most up to date list", but most areas have a fairly recent list, or have access to the info somehow. But if you "double register" you can be the M Falcon when you do "crime" and the Lost Hope when you need to look legit. This should work for any common vessel - yt-1300, corvette, ect. A rare or odd ship would be noticed as being the same ship. It much easier than trying to forge papers, cause a simple "plate run" and you're toast since the forgery isn't registered.
_________________
Luke, I am your father.
That's impossible!
And Leia is your sister!
That's improbable?
And the Empire will be destroyed by..EWOKS!
That's...highly unlikely.
The Force? Bacteria called midichlorians.
If you don’t take this seriously I'm out.

[Jedi Skyler]

And if your characters can afford it, I'd recommend they not limit themselves to "double" registering, especially if they have the capability of changing aspects of the exterior view of the ship. A good smuggler might even trick out his ship to have three or four different legit IDs, some ion emitters to cloud up the ship's engine signature, and perhaps a quick paint job or some add-on fuel or storage pods that you can have stashed somewhere. Anything to add to the disguise, but the most important thing is the transponder code. Because if you simply turn the thing off, the Imps will know there's a problem if they have a visual on you.

[Orgaloth]

Cracken's Rebel Field Guide, states that you can put 3 extra sigs on your ship, any more and you get bleed over (it makes it easier for the scanning ship to detect the infraction).
_________________
"I take orders from just one person: Me!"

"You know, sometimes I amaze even myself."
Du Cass' Dream

[Jedi Skyler]

Ah, yes. Good point. Thanks for keeping me "honest"... 8)

[scott2978]

BOSS datawork Forgery 101:

What is BOSS?
BOSS is a computer network, spanning the galaxy. There is no one central BOSS computer or database, it's a gigantic galactic network of all the local and sector BOSS offices, all connected by the holonet. the holonet is of course locked down and available only to the military and other official Imperial uses. BOSS stands for Bureau of Ships and Services by the way.

When does this stuff come into play?
When coming in to land on a planet (or station or what have you) a ship will be contacted by Starport Control. they will ask for the ships name and captains name, their point of origin and what cargo/passengers they are carrying. While the crew is relaying that information to Starport Control, a process known as TRANSVER occurs. TRANSVER is the verification of the ships transponder codes with the BOSS database. If the TRANSVER reveals that the ship's transponder signal is not listed, illegal or has been blacklisted, the ship will be instructed to land - like normal - but a contingent of Imperial troops will be waiting to inspect the ship upon landing. If the transponder signal checks out, the ship will again be instructed to land, but nothing unpleasant will occur thereafter. at least not due to the BOSS.

On forging BOSS credentials
It takes more than one person to properly forge a BOSS credential. BOSS credentials range from the BOSS pilots license, ships operating licence and many other licences. Commonly a smuggler will want to forge the ships's operating license and his opwn pilots license within the BOSS database so he and his ship appear to be legal. To do that, one needs a few shady contacts, and a lot of money. First a good forgery must include an official BOSS datapad. ALL BOSS INFO KEPT BY SPACERS IS STORED ON OFFICIAL BOSS DATAPADS!! Merely getting your hands on an official BOSS datapad may cost a smuggler several thousand credits, then finding a slicer capable of creating a passable fake license on it takes a LOT of skill, something around 5 or 6D in Forgery I'd say. But that's not the end. Then, you have to know a slicer who can hack into the BOSS datanet, via either the holonet or a local network, and plant the fake data. The fake data must match EXACTLY what is on the BOSS databad! the problem with this part of the forgery is that while a person with sufficient slicing skill may be merely problematic to find, a person with access to the holonet, or the BOSS network, is virtually impossible to find. Imagine looking around your neighborhood for a hacker with connections to the CIA mainframe. That's the kind of hacking you're looking for. A person like that is not going to sell his service cheap, and is going to be EXTREMELY tough to find, and for a darn good reason!

The good news
But there is good news, and no, I didn't just save a bunch of money on my car insurance. In the criminal underworld, there is a very very high demand for people who can forge BOSS datawork. As the laws of supply and demand apply to Star Wars as much as real life, that need must be filled. So what we have is a criminal who markets himself as "Able to forge BOSS datawork" who in reality is just a front man for a small organization of slicers and forgers who work together, using their skills and/or contacts in the Empire (via bribes and kickbacks) to create very passable fake BOSS datawork. If you want to pay the price, you can hire such people to forge your datawork, since they not only have the skills but also the essential connections (both holonet and socially) to make it happen. Something along the lines of 20,000cr per fake license is a common price. Remember that to pass a TRANSVER you will need both a pilots license and a ship's operating license. You will almost certainly also need a local operating license to carry cargo, conduct commerce or whatever in addition to the BOSS datawork, but those are usually not as hard to forge and come at a discount.

The Hidden dimension
There is a hidden dimention to this industry as well, and that's that these small organizations are usually not running themselves. I'd say that nearly everyforgery outfit in operation is actually being financed and protected by criminal organizations like Black Sun or the Hutts. They make fake BOSS datawork for their employers' ships as a day job, and they make a few extra bucks on the side by doing a few extra jobs for themselves. This hidden dimention adds a bit of slimy-ness to the act of obtaining a forgery, because one never knows what criminals they are financing by paying the forgery fees. Also, it's a safe bet that the outfit making your forgeries is keeping something of your transaction, as "insurance" against you turning them in for a reward. Maybe they even plant hidden messages in your BOSS datawork that would allow other hackers (called "Slicers" in Star Wars) to see who made it. Who knows!

The bottom line is that to take a facet of the game like BOSS forgeries and make it little more than a footnote in your game is to leave a lot of possible adventure and intrigue out! Make obtaining a fake ID a difficult and dicey prospect!

[garhkal]

Thanks...
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Darius]

The BOSS agency would probably have a central registry on Coruscant that should be impossible to crack or fool. Players should be allowed to fake papers etc when it comes to regional agencies. However the regional agencies would probably do data-dumps to Coruscant occasionaly and any differences would be picked up. In fact that probably happens a lot and BOSS would have people employed full time comparing regional records with central records looking for those attempts at fraud. Ultimately what this means is that players can fake ownership of a vessel but it would only work temporarily. If at all. Otherwise the players would suddenly own fleets of Star Destroyers and the rest of the Rebellion would watch from the sidelines as they then proceed to take down the Empire (by buying all their ships!). But then power corrupts and the players would now become the new Empire and the Rebellion would then chase after them... now that would make for an interesting game.
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oops - i didnt mean to make it go off

[garhkal]

Ok. Lets say, that the imps have set up a 'inspection station; running 5 year safety and BOSS update checks on all ships coming into system Y. They run this for, say, 45 days. The pcs in their supped up illegal freighter come in, and see that there is little chance of running (say 2 Interdictors, and lots of fighters). They dock for their turn, and hand over their forged paperwork saying everything is legit... Firstly, would it be standard practice for said inspector to check it with the BOSS database or would they just check over trhe paperwork. Secondly, say they DID check with the main registry, and it showed the ship as not listed/stolen etc. What would the penalty be for the owner??
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!