Bolthaven Folios

Welcome to Bolthaven!

Bolthaven Folios are a series of tabletop role playing game zines providing mini-systems to bolt onto existing "traditional" games like Dungeons & Dragons. I keep having ideas for little add-on rules for my games, so I thought I'd publish them and see if any other GMs could use a few more options in their toolkit. The project started with Issue #1: Forge & Fate, first available in June 2025.

What Design Principles Guide Bolthaven Folios?

I let the following principles guide me in creating each issue:

• Make It Useful. Detail a system that adds something cool. If I won't use the rules I develop, why bother writing them down?

• Make It Small. Limit the length to 4 pages, one sheet of paper folded in half (literally a folio), to describe each system succinctly.

• Make It Generic. Strive to remain system agnostic and setting-free for use on as many gaming tables as possible.

• Make It Extensible. In the spirit of early versions of D&D, provide some options, but encourage creativity beyond what's written.

• Make It Myself. I'm learning Affinity Publisher for this project, and I'm challenging myself to (mostly) create art myself.

What Does Each Issue Contain?

I'll maintain a list of issues here with links to order each one. I offer digital copies through DriveThru RPG and itch.io. I'm planning on offering physical copies as well, but the infrastructure isn't in place to handle physical orders yet.

1. Forge & Fate. (Availability Forthcoming) Offers random tables for component names (aka "The Macguffin BS Generator") and an advantage/disadvantage system for creating items.