Rated by buyers 
-
I saw this book for cheap so I added it on to another order. It's a fun little read, with very little in the way of rules and a lot more on the theoretical application of role playing character development in D&D. Because it's rules extra lite, there isn't any conflict using this stuff if you play 3.5
Also, 4e sucks.
That is all
Rated by buyers 
-
This is the quintessential DnD manual for anyone playing in 3rd Ed or Ver 3.5. This product tells you how your character fits in society at large, and how the ability scores should be put for which classes. This guide also contains variants on multiclassing, with guides to help you in choosing feats and skills to match. This guide is also helpful for choosing an alignment, and it also has a wonderful name section, with about 100 names each for most of the major races (Elves, Halflings, Gnomes, Humans, Dwarves, and Orcs [for half-orcs]).
The part that sold this book for me is the Background generator, or the history of your character at this point. The section is table based, and you roll percentile dice (d100 or 2d10) to find out about your character. I have used this many times when playing, and have found it to be invaluable when you need a quick backstory for your character. It has detailed tables that are easy to navigate, and if you don't want to roll, you can just choose whatever your need for your character at the time, or whatever fits your character. This can be good fot the DM, as he/she can use these parts in the campaign (like enemies and instructors, even families when the PC gets to their hometown). I would recommend this book both as a player and a DM. If you have ever struggled to make a good character backstory, only to have it backfire later, then this is the guide for you.
Rated by buyers -
Most of the reviews of this book have a common theme that this book is for noobs only and that experienced players will have little or no use for it. My opinion is that they couldn't be more wrong.
While the book does have some annoying and/or pointless aspects, there is a wealth of information that experienced players can use.
The book breaks down into the following 7 segments:
1. Introduction
2. Rolling your Ability Scores
3. Choosing your Race and Class
4. Creating Your Personal History
5. Selecting Your Alignment
6. Planning Your Future Career
7. Appendix: The Rule of Names
Firstly, the introduction. Yes it does state that the game of D&D is about heroes and while that may be self-evident I think alot of reviewers are taking the sentance too literally. Reading this sentance should instantly conjure certain images in the reader's mind and this I think sets the tone for the rest of the book.
Secondly, the segment on rolling ability scores. This was one of the annoying segments for me. For me, buying this book was all about ideas and inspiration for hero's and I find this kind of information pointless. You can't play the game without the PH and DMG and this information is covering in those publications and no-one should be allowed to run a game unless they can explain dice rolling conventions and the bellcurve to thier players.
Thirdly, choosing race and class. Usually most players already have a concept in mind and this quickly manifests in race and class. Covering pages 8 - 36 this is easily the largest section in the book and I look at this segment with mixed feelings. On one hand it provides some good basic information about the mixture of class and race on the other hand there is alot of repetition which had me flipping through pages faster than I could possibly read them - which meant that I missed a couple of gems when it came to suggested race/class variants, which I only picked up on during a second, more thorough reading.
The fourth segment (character's history) is quite simply the best part of this book! Despite what other reviewers have said about people lacking time and/or creativity - this section is brilliant!! I have lost count of the amount of times that I've had players who go through the routine of rolling dice, choosing skills, feats, blah, blah and are then ready to play. No explanation as to where their character came from, how they got to where they are today, or where they are going or even why they are going there! There was a previous review which mentioned the fun that can be had when different tables produce what initally appear to be conflicting results.
My only complaint with these tables would be that they are too sparse with their enteries. However, they should only ever be looked at as a starting point in developing your character's 'back story'. By adding events and/or the amount of rolls on particular tables you can come up with some truly spectacular character stories.
The fifth segment also offers an interesting take on choosing an alignment. All too often players choose role-playing friendly alignment options such as Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Good. If they do choose one of the 'harder' alignments they usually lack a true understanding of the alignment and how a person with this moral/ethical outlook would interact with a real world.
This part of the book once again reverts to tables, but in a very interesting way. It poses a number of questions under some general headings; such as under 'Relationship to King and Country' there are questions about how you would act if your country was racked by famine and if offered money would you spy for a foreign nation. Some answers are self-explanatory for certain characters (especially Paladins - a class I personally hate). But anyway, this part of the book offers alot of insight into some murky areas of morals and ethics. In each of my own campaigns I've used this as a test of sorts to which I've added alot of questions that I've drawn from various pop-pyschology tests found online.
The best way to use this section is to create the character excluding alignment and name. Let the player review the information, especially the back story and then take the character sheet away from them. Then run through the questions with them. More often than not the mixutre of half-remembered back-story and the mental character concept combine to produce some very interesting characters. Don't rubbish it until you've tried it!
The second to last section is on planning your character. There is some interesting information and guidelines for 1st level characters, but becuase the game gives itself over to so many permutations of characters, it is simply impossible to plot out the different paths that can be taken and the authors don't even really endeavor to - although they do try to plot 'sterotypical' paths, which I think defeats the whole purpose of the book!
The section then goes on to detail some different 'kits' or 'templates' and what skills and feats should be taken to fit into these archetypes. Again, I think this defeats the whole purpose of the book, which is to create unique hero's. They would have been better off using the pages to either expand on the personal history or alignment tables!!
The last segment is probably the most important, but most overlooked! It's only four pages, but are probably the most important! As the book rightly states, a name can evoke all sorts of images and preconceptions and a badly named character does a disservice to this powerful role-playing aspect. A character with a truly great name can often inspire the player to truly fantastic levels of role-playing. I'll never forget my fighter Maximus Brutus (Every critical hit was Maximum Brutality! He was far too brash, I should have realised he'd never make it pass 4th level!) Or one player I had whose wizard was called Nostradamus the Black (but only because his parents had orignally named him Norman!).
The book ends with several blocks of names for the various races, which serves as a good jumping off point for developing the perfect name for your character.
Overall, the book deserves its four stars and given that I bought it for .93c on Amazon I certainly don't regret the purchase!
Rated by buyers 
-
You can pick this book up for $2.00 or less. It is 3rd edition not 3.5 and the cover has the only colour pics you will see. The tables for character creation are vague in the extreme. The only good thing about them is that they are a quick and easy way to add a little (not a lot) flair to an NPC. Other reviews said that this product is good for beginers. I would say save your money and make up your own tables.
Rated by buyers -
The Hero Builder's Guidebook doesn't scream "Experienced Players BUY ME!" and it shouldn't, either.
After all, the very first line is: "The D&D game is a game about heroes."
No, this is a book for newbie D&D players, and thank you for it, Wizards of the Coast. When I bought this book three years ago, I didn't need a good lot of it because of my own previous experience with the game. However, the ENORMOUS class & race combinations amazed me and my comrades. We were so excited to see Variant ideas for each race and class (unexpected and so good).
The Personal History Creation section may seem a bit wishy-washy for some of the hardcore veterans, but I can tell you straightforwardly and proudly: I created the most in-depth character using the basics in that section. After all, D&D is about using your imagination, and the tables allowed me to get a huge group of ideas and expand even further on them. The cleverness of figuring out why things occurred together - IE. your character lives with a wandering troupe, but owns a home and has bad ethics - is fun, too.
The Alignment Test never fails to prove my character's alignment, and my DM secretly uses it when no one's looking for his NPCs.
The Hero Builder's Guidebook is a very good buy, regardless of your level of experience. New and moderately new players can get a lot from the book, but veteran players may feel the book beneath them.