And the art!

One thing I've really missed about mainstream games, hanging out in the Fudge / indie world for so many years… good art. Colorful art. Lots of art. Art that's drawn specifically toward the text, not pulled from a generic collection.

Art's one of the most expensive pieces in the small-press production, but it's also important. Many gamers will tell you that they don't need art… but I'm not convinced that they understand how much they're influenced by art when they say that. "A picture is worth a thousand words," after all. Art conveys mood and style… the right art can "tell" you want a setting is all about in a way that mere words never can.

Unfortunately, those thousand words are a lot cheaper in the roleplaying market than that picture is.