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Design linksThis page is intended as a resource for new and not-so-new RPG designers. I realised that in my own learning process I was coming across stuff that might not be widely known, and wanted to publicise it a bit. Hope it helps!
SoftwareFreeserifsoftware.com - I use Serif PagePlus for DTP, because it's full-featured and very keenly priced. This site lets you download a free trial version - it's labelled "SE", and I don't know where that fits in the sequence of PP versions. Alternatively you can buy a download of PagePlus 9 for a ridiculous £9.99 plus delivery (there's a link in the "more about" for SE). That's the version I was using until recently, and I heartily recommend it, except that its built-in PDF publishing has some quirks (e.g. producing big files - I ran them through Acrobat 4 afterwards to optimise them) - you could use it alongside a free PDF generator (anyone recommend one?). I've just upgraded to PP11, and am wrestling with a couple of foibles, notably cursor tracking which might be a bug or a new way of working - wouldn't recommend over 9 right now unless you want the improved PDF handling, and it is more expensive. Serif are known for offering cheap upgrades once you're in their customer base, though they also like to bombard you with other offers.
FontsMicrosoft's typography page - quite a useful resource generally, but contains one must-have tool for Windows-based publishers. Go to "Tools and utilities" and install the font properties extension (it looks a bit out of date but as far as I can tell works fine in XP). Then go into Fonts on your PC, right-click a font and select "Properties". You're offered more info than before, including an "Embedding" tab that tells you what level of permission is set on the font. I'm now using this at the stage of selecting fonts for a project, to save the heartache of getting a pretty layout done and then finding there are font embedding problems. Identifont - big directory of font information, lets you search by name and find fonts similar to one you identify. Dingbats-UK - a huge directory of dingbat fonts for every occasion (all TrueType, I think). Be sure to check in the zip for info about usage permissions: many are free for non-commercial use but ask a small fee for commercial projects (often $5-10, worth it if it's just right).
ArtRPGNow - that link will take you straight to the Publisher resources -> Stock Art category on this RPG sales site. There's clipart for sale there for a range of genres. A clipart pack is a really cheap way to get a number of pieces to illustrate a project, though of course other people are using it too. Note that the sister site RPGEdge for smaller publishers also has an art category, with no less worthy material - click the orange logo at the top of the page to get there. Louis Porter Jr Design - has produced a lot of clipart packs, including a lot of good pieces. Note that a number of people in the RPG design community have big problems with this guy and some of his business practices. I've used the stuff, simply because I needed cheap art and this is a major source. You can buy it at DriveThruRPG and e23 (links on that page, DTRPG, seems to discount the prices more), but not at RPGNow. Dover Publications - produces a number of resource books for publishers, with graphic files on CD and printed out in book pages. That link takes you to the relevant part of the Dover site, where you can flip through their list - to buy, check out your local Amazon for possible better prices/quicker delivery. The utility of this depends on what you're doing: I work with mythology a lot, so it's helpful. Even on a book that sounds relevant the quality and relevance of pieces is rather variable. The licence lets you use up to 10 pieces per book you own in a given project; if you want to use more you have to pay a fee - I think it was just $5 per extra piece, so not too bad.
Clipart.com - a huge big repository of images, with an interesting business model: you subscribe to the site for a certain period of time, during which you can grab and use as many images as you like. The difficulty is in finding the right thing for your project amongst the hordes, which is why I haven't actually used it yet. Fortunately you can browse freely before you subscribe so you know whether it's worth it. There's a lot of that cartoony type clipart, but there's also photos of real places, historical illustrations, etc etc. (I just did a search for "Nottingham", where I live, and got 59 illos and photos.)
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