Genemods is the term used to describe a mostly Earthling counterculture of sophonts who voluntarily modify their genome. The community coalesced in the late 1400's after a period of cold hostility between several Solamani systems in the 1250's - 1350's that nearly escalated to civil war. The Genome Accords enacted by the Solamani Magi in 1357 outlawed governments' use of mandatory or inelective genetic modification. The technology became a somewhat popular cosmetic phenomenon for Earthlings.
The biological ramifications of genemodding can be mild, such as reversing natural progression of myopia, to extreme, such as modification of body systems to the point of reproductive incompatibility with other members of the stock species.
Genemodding is most common among Earthlings- most Genemods speak Solamani.
Not all sophonts who have genetic modifications consider themselves Genemods. Sophonts who consider themselves Genemods tend to exist within the Solamani counterculture, but many exsist within hegemonic society.
Some of the Genemods who achieve reproductive incompatibility with their stock species form communities with other Genemods with whom they are reproductively compatible. This is most common among Genemeods who perform package modding, in which a person installs a suite of pre-established modifications marketed or commonly used together. 'Genemods' generally describes people who use packaged mods. Offspring of Genemods are referred to as naturals.
Freestyle modding is when a person installs pre-made mods in a piecemeal fashion or modifies their own genome in an idiosyncratic way. Freestylers will often participate in these communities to some extent, but only rarely achieve reproductive parity with other Genemods.
There are legal restrictions on modifications that introduce natural weaponry or armor, retained from The Genome Accords to The Second Accord. These modifications are only available through freestyling. Genemods with these mods are often barred from entry to higher law level worlds.
Genemods permiated throughout the Solar Subsector, but established insular communities tend to exist on low law level worlds or on the very fringes of society.
Due to the proximity to Haven, there are more Genemods in The Rim than elsewhere.
When rolling for stats, add up to two positive modifiers and two negative modifiers to your rolls.
For example, you can roll one stat with a DM +2 and two other stats with DM-1, two stats with DM +1 and one stat with DM -2, etc.
Describe your biology and come up with a positive and negative quirk of that biology.
A genemod package costs Cr5000. If you are a natural, you do not incur this cost.
If you are a freestyler, each modification adds 1 to a stat of your choosing, but subtracts 1 from your social. You cannot add more modifications than you can 'spend' using your social. Each freestyle mod costs Cr5000.
For each freestyle mod, roll 2D minus the number of previously installed mods. If you roll 2 on the die, or the result is 2 or less, begin the prisoner career: Traveller Core Rulebook, p. 54-55 (ed. 1) or p. 56-57 (ed. 2).
Describe your biology and come up with a positive and negative quirk of that biology.