Ever run across someone while gaming, who just doesn't know what they're doing. Someone so bad at the game that you just have to wonder if there is something wrong with that person? If they're new to the game, well then they're just a newbie and perhaps they'll get better with time. But if that person isn't brand new and is just THAT BAD, some of us refer to them as newbs or n00b. It's become a very derogatory thing to be called this, it means you are kinda horrible at what you're doing. I'm not just talking about Huntards from WoW, I'm talking across the bored with gaming. You find newbs in video gaming, in miniatures gaming, in larping (oh my goodness do they exist in larping) and occasionally you find them even in tabletop rpgs (just not as much as usually the person who's new is being taught and shown how NOT to be that way). Lately I've been learning a LOT that we also have newbs in real life questing.
I am probably the LAST person to put down idealism, youth and having your own opinions about things, but I have come across some people who I just think they haven't been on enough of this quest called life to really get what is going on. They're really newbies on their adulthood real life quest lines, occasionally they turn out to be actual newbs, but I try to give the benefit of the doubt before jumping to that idea. Don't get me wrong, a lot of us were there once, young impressionable, idealistic and thinking we knew everything about the world. We learned, grew and well I would say matured but I'll leave it at learning and growing. I've just been noticing the newbie status as I have had a lot of the younger crowd talking with me, between helping to run a larp and just being one of those "older gamers" that shows how it's done, granted I also still look like I'm about 10 years younger then I am so, that helps too, especially with the ones who decide to be puppies. I'm also not saying this goes for everyone, but there have been a few situations lately that have definitely qualified as newbies and a few that are definitely newbs to boot.
Just last night I ended up in a conversation with just such a person. Now he had followed me around at the last Mythical Journeys event whenever he saw me, had obviously been trying to find me in the Book of Face and had decided to see about being friends. He is friends irl with some of my "minions" as I like to call them at this particular game, i.e. a couple of the younger people at the larp that I have taken under my wing to show the ropes, and get them connected to things and pull them into plots and such. So I was nice and decided to confirm the request for friendship. After a little while he decided to start chatting with me and said hello. I politely replied and talked with him for a bit. He was quite obviously attempting to intrigue my interest, and hadn't looked at my page which plainly says how old I am. After finding that out, he was shocked. Still being puppy like he kept on trying to grill me for information about myself, I mentioned I had been reading that night and had to explain to him what Dune was (I'm re-reading them currently), which was my first sign that he was kinda a newb. He asked if I was going to the next game. I let him know I wouldn't be as there is a Metal and Hardcore festival that I'll be attending instead with some other friends. Being completely serious informed me that metal was against his religion, and got a little on the judgmental side, telling me that it was evil. I started to shake my head in shock.
I realized about that time that I was definitely glad he doesn't play in any games I help run or write plot for. As I'm pretty sure I would break him. I also don't understand how metal is "evil and the devil" when he watches anime all the time (not saying anime is evil but it's not always the depiction of goodness and light), and plays in a larp with made up religions and gods, we are constantly having to deal with fiends and demons and well...some of the town are both shady, have made pacts with said creatures or just, well, just are not all pictures of light and goodness either. His judgmental attitude towards my lifestyle, choices in music and activities really made me want to flat out call him a newb. I am fairly certain he won't last long once he gets to know more of the people in the larping community that he's just joined. As that sort of judgmental holier then though attitude usually doesn't last too long in those parts. Or he'll break and get over his newbness, though that will be something to see. Either way, was head shaking worthy and just kinda made me realize just how much I have been dealing with newbs.
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