Non-mainstream alternative

Clinton,

I've done some very nice work using the free tools that come with most UNIX systems. LaTeX handles type like a dream, and if it's coupled with the Hyperref package, internal cross references are automatically linked. It's also great for generating various navigational aides such as TOC, Table of Figures (yes, it will automatically index all of your illustrations if you ask nicely), indexes and bibliographies. Likewise Gimp is a respectable image program, at least for an amateur like me. It might not be up to the standards of the professional graphic artists here (we seem to have an abundance).

This route isn't for the faint of heart. Doing a layout in LaTeX is a lot more like programming than design. That makes it ideal for a professional programmer like me, but it might give an artist like Hive screaming fits (then again, I might discover that he's a programming guru on the side). There isn't what most people would call a user interface, just commands inserted into the text, then run through the latex program. I was despondent when I first made the jump to UNIX, because this is about as close as anybody comes to making a DTP program for UNIX, unless you want to shell the grand for FrameMaker. There are some very good books available about LaTeX though, and with one of these I was cooking in no time.

LaTeX is available for Windows as MikTeX. Probably one of the nicest software installations I've ever seen. You only install the bare minimum of what you need, and download the rest as you feel compelled. There's usually enough pre-installed to get by.

If you want to see what can be done with LaTeX, A Call of Cthulhu Scenario in PDF format and the LaTeX source that generated it. LaTeX is capable of a lot more, but this is what I whipped off in the space of about two hours, including research and writing.