Rating: 
Summary: New Players will benefit, but lacks depth...
Review: This book is great for new players and idea generating. However, it lacks depth, focuses too heavily on fantasy cliches (the D&D core setting), and often provides characters with backgrounds they can't match due to limited skill selection. One variant this book should have included is how background can affect skill and feat selection. The book is pricey for its content.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't write it off.
Review: This book is useful for people just getting into D&D or for those who are learning about character classes and races. The information is largely around the prototypical Race/Class combinations. A practical use for DMs is to get players to think about how to roll play a character and what would drive them. For experienced players and DMs this book has very little that you would not already know. The name list in the back of the book does provides a handy reference for popping out NPC names when a party decides to talk in detail to that blacksmith that you hadn't fleshed out or even selected a name for.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful for beginers
Review: This book is useful for people just getting into D&D or for those who are learning about character classes and races. The information is largely around the prototypical Race/Class combinations. A practical use for DMs is to get players to think about how to roll play a character and what would drive them. For experienced players and DMs this book has very little that you would not already know. The name list in the back of the book does provides a handy reference for popping out NPC names when a party decides to talk in detail to that blacksmith that you hadn't fleshed out or even selected a name for.
Rating:
Summary: A great supplement for D&D 3rd
Review: This book was a nice addition to my growing 3rd ed. library. For anyone, new or experienced, it is helpful. The book gives some info on mindsets and archetypes of the different races as the different classes. It provides a fairly detailed in depth random background generator which is great if you want to quickly roll up a framework and flesh it out from there. The Alignment questionaire gives you moral and ethical dilemmas to answer in character that help to pinpoint what alignments you lean toward. The one thing I was disappointed with was the last section. I remember the advertising for the book saying that it would include a roadmap for your character with help on what skills and feats to take when to achieve the kind of character you wanted. That section was woefully small. I was expecting something a little larger in that section. All in all though, a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful if you have no imagination
Review: This supplement strikes me as a hastily-put-together effort to capitalize on the resurgence of D&D with the release of the 3rd edition rules. As a long-time gamer, I fondly remember using my own mind and the adventures of my groups to flesh out and develop my characters. This book seems to miss the point entirely. I always thought the point of RPG's was to create an alter-ego based on your campaign and your personality. If you need a book to explain how to make your character more human, then you may want to stick to video games. Some of the material would be helpful to beginning gamers, especially those looking for a way to link the new feats and skills into characterization. But, I feel that most of the material in this guide is largely unnecessary.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, of more use for novice players
Review: When I first cracked the cover of this book, I realized almost immediately that I wasn't going to get much use from it. I was sort of expecting some rules clarifications and as such was really disappointed. For veterans of D&D, the Hero Builder's Guide is pretty much a waste of cash. The only thing that looked remotely useful to me were the character origin generators and the names lists at the end of the book. As far as origin generators are concerned, the Heroes of Legend does as much, much better job, in my opinion. The one is this book is way too simplistic for my tastes. Aside from a few nuggets, this book probably won't get used much. On the plus side, the Hero Builder Guide would be extremely useful for novice players and DMs. The sections on defining roles (half-orc sorcerers, elven monks, etc.) looked to be quite handy for breaking traditional fantasy stereotypes. Enough can't be said about the aforementioned origin generators and name lists. There also tons of tips and advice for making PCs more three-dimensional and less paper characters. In summary: very worthwhile for newbies, veterans can take a pass.
Rating:
Summary: Don't write it off.
Review: While the book is obviously designed for beginners, it has value for those experienced, as well. For instance, having recently bought the book, I created my first character with the book today. For this campaign, I chose a sun-elf wizard. Normally, I just would have given him a random name from the tables in the PH, Aramil Xiloscient, for instance. However, using the tables in the HBG, his name is Selwyn "Windrider" Kavalion. Also, previously, I would have just assumed he was the son of farmers,or something like that. Now he is the son of wealthy arcane parents, who had an arcane ancestor, both grandparents living, an affinity for magic, and the list goes on and on. And if you just are out of ideas, you can roll the histiry and stuff first, and create a character from the profile created. So don't write this book off as just for beginners.
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