While they are often the most cost-effective roof construction solution, manufactured trusses are not the only option to framing a roof. If the roof system is very complicated with a lot of plane and slope changes, sometimes manually stick-framing those complicated elements is the better way to go. There are also other materials that can be used for long spans and heavy load requirements such as engineered products like LVL’s and I-Joists, or if you are going for a exposed timber look there are timber-frame options out there as well.