Dungeons & Dragons Insider Preview
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The first element of D&D Insider we took a look at was the "Character Builder." In appearance, the Character Builder isn't all that different from character builders available in computerized RPGs. Indeed, the obvious comparison is the excellent character creator developed by Obsidian Entertainment for Neverwinter Nights 2. Like that game, it walks players through the process of selecting a race, selecting a class, rolling their initial characteristics and choosing feats, spells, powers and equipment. The tools can offer recommendations for classes or feats or spells based on what type of experience the player has asked for or the selections already made. The tool will also gray out illegal choices. Each selection made when the user's PC is connected to the Net also brings up a mini-page from the D&D Compendium and hyperlinked "other recommendations."
The major difference between this and a CRPG character creator is that the creation process is only as linear as the player wants it to be. The Character Creation is set up more like a spreadsheet or a database. Any element of a character can be tweaked at any time and the ripples of that change will cascade across the entire character sheet. Players can choose to follow the tool's recommendation or head in their own direction. If a player group chooses to pick extra feats or allow otherwise illegal character combinations, the character sheet is merely marked "home ruled" and the tool continues to run the calculations. The tool can also be used to track homebrew classes, feats, powers and items.
