michaelrunderwood

[michaelrunderwood]

GenCon approaches!

I’ll be returning to GenCon again this year, appearing on a few Writers Symposium panels and walking the floor to chat with people and find new games. If you’re hoping to catch me at the con, here are the best times to do it: Thursday, 1pm EDT – Marriott Ballroom 4How to Navigate the Industry Saturday, 4pm EDT – Marriott Ballroom 2Building a Long-Term Career If you’re a representative of a…

[michaelrunderwood]

Daggerheart Release Day!

Daggerheart is finally here! The project was a huge undertaking with many incredible collaborators across disciplines, and I’m honored to have been one of the game’s designers. I helped develop adversaries, environments, campaign frames, and more. I’m so excited to share the game with you all. 🙂Learn more at www.daggerheart.com and decide how to get your copy.For longer thoughts on the game,…

[michaelrunderwood]

Annihilation Aria returns!

I’m delighted to announce that my found-family space opera novel ANNIHILATION ARIA is back in ebook and paperback form. The book has been unavailable in those formats since 2021 when the book’s original publisher, Parvus Press, shut down operations and reverted the rights to me. The book did really well in the short time it was available, despite my only being able to do one in-person event (an…

[michaelrunderwood]

Daggerheart Pre-Orders!

For over 10 months, I’ve been working as a (freelance) game designer on Daggerheart, Critical Role’s forthcoming fantasy ttrpg. Today, the game’s pre-orders went live, including an amazing limited edition.You can find all the information at Darrington Press’s website. There will also be information about pre-orders and the state of the game in an update stream today at 5pm EDT (2pm PDT) on…

[michaelrunderwood]

ArmadilloCon this weekend!

After a couple of years of conflicts and bad luck (I got sick last year right when I was going to travel), I’m attending ArmadilloCon in Austin, TX for the first time this weekend as a panelist!As of the time I post this, there is *one* spot left in the Daggerheart one-shot I’m running at the con – playing “Marauders of Windfall”, an adventure I was the lead designer for.Here’s my schedule (all…

[michaelrunderwood]

GenCon and other upcoming appearances!

Summer con season is here and I’m traveling more than I have since the start of COVID. With the combined powers of multiple vaccines, masks, air filters, and nasal sprays, I hope to come through the summer healthy and good to keep trucking into autumn.First up is GenCon next week, where I’ll be participating in programming with the GenCon Writers’ Symposium.Here’s my schedule. All of these will…

[michaelrunderwood]

Daggerheart Playtest update

This week Darrington Press released an update to the Daggerheart playtest, along with a livestream + Q&A with Daggerheart Lead Designer Spenser Starke and Critical Role’s Matt Mercer. There’s cool stuff in this update and I am excited to see what people think about these updates! If you have been testing Daggerheart, please take the time to leave some feedback at http://www.Daggerheart.com or…

[michaelrunderwood]

[REDACTED] game project revealed!

Today is the beginning of Darrington Press’ Daggerheart open beta playtest! <link href=”https://www.daggerheart.com/>” replace=”” to=””/>https://www.daggerheart.com/> And, with the release of these materials, I can now say that I have been consulting for Darrington Press as a designer on the game! It’s been so hard keeping this under wraps, especially since it represents a big development in my…

[michaelrunderwood]

Game Design Era

I haven’t posted here in a while, so I wanted to provide a short update for folks that don’t visit my Patreon, which is updated much more frequently.Since May of last year, I’ve been much more active in ttrpg game design. I was a design consultant and provided additional writing for the Darrington Press game Candela Obscura, a supernatural investigation game using their Illuminated Worlds system.…

[michaelrunderwood]

Nebula Conference 2023 Schedule

I’m heading out tomorrow for my first in-person SFF book convention since ConFusion in 2020 – a cross-country trip to Anaheim, CA for the 2023 Nebula Awards Conference. I’m very excited to reconnect with colleagues, talk shop on panels, learn from colleagues, and to meet people new to the field and/or SFWA. I’m participating in three panels, two on Sat and one on Sunday. All times PDT.…

[michaelrunderwood]

Speculate Marathon + Fundraiser Nov 12th

Speculate Marathon + Fundraiser Nov 12th

Speculate Marathon Schedule graphic Hi folks! I haven’t been very active on this feed, mostly because I’ve just now started returning to in-person cons and I’ve been hard at work on writing without as much news to announce. But now I have news! If you’re a long-time viewer or fan, you know that I co-host an actual play show called Speculate with my friends Gregory A. Wilson and Brandon…

[michaelrunderwood]

Hexomancy returns!

Hexomancy, the third and final book in the series, is back out today in a new edition (lightly revised) with a new cover.  Cover for Hexomancy by Michael R. Underwood. Text reads “Hugo Award Finalist Michael R. Underwood – Hexomancy – Ree Reyes Book Three” A slim Latina holding magic-powered dice and a sword stands in front of a middle-aged white man with a salt-and-pepper beard wearing a brown…

[michaelrunderwood]

I'm A Game Designer Now

I’m A Game Designer Now

My first ttrpg design, The Only Logical Solution Is Hijinx, is now available on Itch.io! Here’s the description: You are Tolvan, members of a people committed to logic above all else in order to constrain and channel your deep passions towards unity and innovation.You are visiting or serve aboard the IGS Adventure! – a galaxy-traveling ship with an expert crew, dedicated to the missions of…

[michaelrunderwood]

Celebromancy Returns!

Today Celebromancy, the second of the Ree Reyes books returns in a new edition! The new edition is available in ebook and paperback forms from major booksellers. Geekomancy is already available and finding new readers and joining paperback collections.You can request Celebromancy from your local library or special order from a friendly local bookstore! The rest of the Ree Reyes series will be…

[michaelrunderwood]

Balticon+ArvCon schedules

I’m participating in a few online panels at Balticon this weekend, if you’re attending/viewing and want to catch me chatting about various geeky things. Balticon activities – (All times EDT) Saturday, May 28Sat 2:30 PM   Virtual Consuite Readings  Session 1069Readings: Michael Underwood and Leonardo Espinoza Benavides Sunday, May 29th1:00 PM    Virtual Panel Room 2     Session 374        What…

[michaelrunderwood]

Writefest Schedule!

I’m appearing virtually on panels for this year’s Writefest, a multi-genre conference run by Writespace. Find out how to register here. You can see me on panels across the weekend: Saturday April 30th9am EDT Podcasting: How Audio Can Grow Your Writing Career Michael R. Underwood • Marshall Ryan Maresca • Meg Hafdal • Michael DeLuca 1pm EDTThe Query Letter: How to Land an Agent Michael R.…

[michaelrunderwood]

The Summer of Ree!

The Summer of Ree!

After a hiatus where the rights reverted to me but I wasn’t able to work on them, the Ree Reyes books are returning this summer with new covers AND publishing in paperback for the first time! Here you can see the first of the new covers, this one for Geekomancy! Cover by Deranged Doctor Design. I absolutely love this new cover. The giant d20-as-magical orb makes me so happy. PLUS, the…