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It is hard to deem the Hero Builder's Guidebook a dissapointment. By reading the text and comparing it to other Dungeons & Dragons ® products, the accessory is obviously meant for beginning players. Respectfully, the finished product is a very good product for young players and Dungeon Masters. However, a good product for beginners is very rarely a good product for experienced gamers, and the Hero Builder's Guidebook is no exception.

As with much of the new Dungeons & Dragons ® line, the Hero Builder's Guidebook features a solid text and graphical layout. The text flows through the use of a sans-serif text and the limited vocabulary, allowing it to become an easy read for beginning gamers. The amount of graphics is good, however there are several areas in the book where three or five pages go by with not one picture. The use and amount of the graphics is well done, but more equal placing would have helped.

Looking good never makes the role-playing product, good appearance only substantially helps it. As everyone knows, well done products are judged through their content. Unfortunately for this reviewer, the Hero Builder's Guidebook is an odd product to review. One one side of the spectrum, it is apparent the product was meant for beginners. On the other, there are still some areas that could be of use to veterans. What side should be judged? Both.

The Hero Builder's Guidebook contains some great features for new players, including:

Helpful hints and tips about each of the races and classes
Unique variants of each race/class combination
Step-by-step character advancement guides
Tables and guidelines to help create a character background
Lots of premade names to make the name choosing process easier

Each of the above features are great for novice players just starting to learn the magic of role-playing. However, the book contains little new information for the experienced player. The race/class variants can be very neat, and the background and name sections can provide some new insight, but aside from those, the book has nothing for the veteran gamer.

The final judgement of the product comes from the price tag. $14.95 U.S is far too steep for a 64-page book with little useful information for the experienced gamer. Even for beginners, the price is still much too high. Inflation is understandable, but the fact remains: the price of the Hero Builder's Guidebook is too high.

The Hero Builder's Guidebook is not a dissapointment. It does what it was meant to do: help beginning players understand and expand their characters. Unfortunately, Wizards of the Coast didn't expand on the product to include great new information for the veterans. A lower price tag and stronger information for the experienced gamers would have made the Hero Builder's Guidebook a solid purchase for any gamer. As it is, the product proves to be useful only for beginners. Chris Reed

Hero Builder's Guidebook
Item type: game Review by: Chris Reed Product Name: Hero Builder's Guidebook Author: Ryan Dancey, David Noonan, and John D. Rateliff Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: Dungeons & Dragons SKU: TSR11647 Cost: $14.95 US Page count: 64 ISBN: 0-7869-1647-8 Ratings: Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 2 (Sparse) Review type: Capsule Review Genre tags: Fantasy	It is hard to deem the Hero Builder's Guidebook a dissapointment. By reading the text and comparing it to other Dungeons & Dragons ® products, the accessory is obviously meant for beginning players. Respectfully, the finished product is a very good product for young players and Dungeon Masters. However, a good product for beginners is very rarely a good product for experienced gamers, and the Hero Builder's Guidebook is no exception. As with much of the new Dungeons & Dragons ® line, the Hero Builder's Guidebook features a solid text and graphical layout. The text flows through the use of a sans-serif text and the limited vocabulary, allowing it to become an easy read for beginning gamers. The amount of graphics is good, however there are several areas in the book where three or five pages go by with not one picture. The use and amount of the graphics is well done, but more equal placing would have helped. Looking good never makes the role-playing product, good appearance only substantially helps it. As everyone knows, well done products are judged through their content. Unfortunately for this reviewer, the Hero Builder's Guidebook is an odd product to review. One one side of the spectrum, it is apparent the product was meant for beginners. On the other, there are still some areas that could be of use to veterans. What side should be judged? Both. The Hero Builder's Guidebook contains some great features for new players, including: Helpful hints and tips about each of the races and classes Unique variants of each race/class combination Step-by-step character advancement guides Tables and guidelines to help create a character background Lots of premade names to make the name choosing process easier Each of the above features are great for novice players just starting to learn the magic of role-playing. However, the book contains little new information for the experienced player. The race/class variants can be very neat, and the background and name sections can provide some new insight, but aside from those, the book has nothing for the veteran gamer. The final judgement of the product comes from the price tag. $14.95 U.S is far too steep for a 64-page book with little useful information for the experienced gamer. Even for beginners, the price is still much too high. Inflation is understandable, but the fact remains: the price of the Hero Builder's Guidebook is too high. The Hero Builder's Guidebook is not a dissapointment. It does what it was meant to do: help beginning players understand and expand their characters. Unfortunately, Wizards of the Coast didn't expand on the product to include great new information for the veterans. A lower price tag and stronger information for the experienced gamers would have made the Hero Builder's Guidebook a solid purchase for any gamer. As it is, the product proves to be useful only for beginners. Chris Reed