Leon Barillaro Joins Wizards of the Coast as D&D Designer

Leon Barillaro has also joined Wizards of the Coast as part of the D&D design team. As announced on their social media page, Barillaro is an experienced RPG designer with numerous third-party supplements on DMs Guild. They have design credits with MCDM, Renegade Games Studios, and EN Publishing as well. Per their Linkedin, Barillaro is working as a game designer for the D&D team.

Barillaro joins James Haeck as a new employee at Wizards of the Coast, with Justice Arman also receiving a recent promotion within the company as well. All three have similar resumes, having built up their resumes on DMs Guild material and third-party work before hopping over to join Wizards of the Coast in an official capacity.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm not super fond of that list because it intermingles branches. Including Basic D&D/Rules Cyclopedia is like calling your uncle an ancestor.

Theres 7 main branches of the D&D line. If you count .5 editions and basic variants theres around 11-13.

3 versions of basic (1 included 7 main branches)
5.5 and 3.5

RC is edited BECMI I'm not including it on my list along with the later BECMI boxed sets (black and the other one) essentials or players options. They're basically add on/optional or condensed versions of existing editions.

Holmes, Monday and Mentzer are all different but similar though.

Distinct/revised versions theres 11. 7 main lines, 2 basic revisions (B/X, BECMI) 3.5 and 5.5.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm not super fond of that list because it intermingles branches. Including Basic D&D/Rules Cyclopedia is like calling your uncle an ancestor.

Moldvat B/X was the most successful and popular variant of D&D prior to 5E, and a major direct influence on the design of the modern game.

 

[doctorhook]

Well, I lead with the caveat that I am not including OD&D or anyBasic, so that my list is also absurd. Just counting all versions of first parrt D&D I think I came up with seventeen distinct variations.

But for ninth, I am sticking by a more traditional publishing understanding of the term "Edition" for the PHB and DMG at least (2E complicates the MM on this point), with the distinction being a book called "Players Handbook" or "Dungeon Masters Guide" with a distinct ISBN assigned, so:

• Original 1E AD&D
• mid-80s 1E refresh, which got new ISBN numbers due to the number of changes though in our usual gaming parlance we consider this the "same edition"
• 1989 2E AD&D
• mid-90's 2E refresh
• 3E
• 3.5
• 4E
• 5E 2014
• 5E 2024

So, nine typical editions of the PHB and DMG set (MM optional). Somewhat idiosyncratic, but considering 3.5 the sixth iteration of the AD&D core set makes more sense to my mind than a "half edition" at any rate, and this cuts across the question of how similar any new version is. 2024 is a lot less radical than 4E or even 3.5 (maybe 2E even), but a more significant change than the black cover 2E refresh.

For what it’s worth, I like your count and the logic behind it, it makes a lot of sense to me. One of the reasons I like it: you excluded 4E Essentials. I was a fan of that line, and I maintain that it was a content expansion for 4E not a new edition.

 

[Parmandur]

For what it’s worth, I like your count and the logic behind it, it makes a lot of sense to me. One of the reasons I like it: you excluded 4E Essentials. I was a fan of that line, and I maintain that it was a content expansion for 4E not a new edition.

It is pretty clear to me, at any rate, that any and all edition numbering system for D&D is super borked.

 

[Staffan]

Theres 7 main branches of the D&D line. If you count .5 editions and basic variants theres around 11-13.

3 versions of basic (1 included 7 main branches)
5.5 and 3.5

RC is edited BECMI I'm not including it on my list along with the later BECMI boxed sets (black and the other one) essentials or players options. They're basically add on/optional or condensed versions of existing editions.

Holmes, Monday and Mentzer are all different but similar though.

Distinct/revised versions theres 11. 7 main lines, 2 basic revisions (B/X, BECMI) 3.5 and 5.5.

I think we have different definitions of "branches". A branch is what happens when things start developing along different pathways. So you have the root of OD&D, and from there you have two main branches: the "Basic" branch (1st, 2nd, and 3rd version followed by the Rules Cyclopedia) and the "Advanced" branch (AD&D, AD&D 2e, D&D 3e, D&D 3.5e, D&D 4e, possibly 4e essentials, D&D 5e, and D&D 5.5e/2024). The two branches aren't entirely separated, but those are the main two lineages.

If you want to get overly detailed, you could include all the D&D-like off-shoots (e.g. Pathfinder 1e and 2e, or 13th Age, or all the various d20-based RPGs), but I feel that that's excessive, and they generally haven't had much influence on the current bearer of the name "D&D".

 

[Zardnaar]

I think we have different definitions of "branches". A branch is what happens when things start developing along different pathways. So you have the root of OD&D, and from there you have two main branches: the "Basic" branch (1st, 2nd, and 3rd version followed by the Rules Cyclopedia) and the "Advanced" branch (AD&D, AD&D 2e, D&D 3e, D&D 3.5e, D&D 4e, possibly 4e essentials, D&D 5e, and D&D 5.5e/2024). The two branches aren't entirely separated, but those are the main two lineages.

If you want to get overly detailed, you could include all the D&D-like off-shoots (e.g. Pathfinder 1e and 2e, or 13th Age, or all the various d20-based RPGs), but I feel that that's excessive, and they generally haven't had much influence on the current bearer of the name "D&D".

Two branches then, 7 distinct lines, 4 distinct enough revisions.

Big lines.
OD&D
BECMI (plus Holmes and B/X)
1E-5E

3.5 a d 5.5 are technically revisions but so is 2E so depends how you count things.

 

[doctorhook]

Two branches then, 7 distinct lines, 4 distinct enough revisions.

Big lines.
OD&D
BECMI (plus Holmes and B/X)
1E-5E

3.5 a d 5.5 are technically revisions but so is 2E so depends how you count things.

Is a leaf a branch?

 

[mamba]

Is a leaf a branch?

what do you consider a leaf here, OD&D? I would add that to the AD&D branch

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I thought D&D editions were OD&D, 1e, 2e, ME, 3e, 3.5e, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, 11...

 

[Zardnaar]

what do you consider a leaf here, OD&D? I would add that to the AD&D branch

Its also tgevbasic branch.

That's where the two lines diverged. OD&D became basic, 1E was a rewrite (money grab).