I got Particle Illusion 2 SE, free, from a magazine years ago, woot! ;)

Nothing touches it, IMHO.

however, three plugins for Photoshop, 2 that wold be hard to get now, do help:

GENESIS, company no longer sells it, creates awesome lens and gas flares etc.

ULEAD GIF-X 2.0, has aweosme lens flares, lights, beams and the best lightning I've ever seen. Don't know if it's sold as a stand alone, anymore, it was bundled into Ulead's paint program.

KNOLL LIGHT FACTORY, expensive, but has lot of great light effects.

"I'd rather be a Fool who believes in Dragons, Than a King who believes in Nothing!" www.silverblades-suitcase.com
Free tutorials, Vue & Bryce materials, Bryce Skies, models, D&D items, stories.
Tutorials on Poser imports to Vue/Bryce, Postwork, Vue rendering/lighting, etc etc!