'The Lord Of The Rings Online' Players Hold Tributes For Sir Ian Holm

Players of the fantasy MMO The Lord Of The Rings Online gathered over the weekend to pay tribute to Sir Ian Holm. The beloved actor, who played Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, passed away late last week at the age of 88.

Hundreds of fans across the game's servers held multiple tributes in honour of Holm. As you can see below, redditor Ch_Mell detailed a touching memorial in the game's Evernight server. According to Ch_Mell, "300 people gathered and walked to Rivendell on a moment's notice" to gather round the Bilbo Baggins NPC in the Hall Of Fire.

Meanwhile, players on the Laurelin server held their own tribute. Around 20-30 players (although it could have been more) marched together towards the Shire, where Bilbo famously fled in search of adventure all those years ago. Once players arrived, they set off fireworks and listened to a Dwarven minstrel play a song.

"My understanding is it basically broke the whole Shire during the gathering lol," wrote one of the users who was there. "And I couldn't be more approving."

You can see footage of this more intimate memorial below, courtesy of a lovely edit from Mateusz Maciukiewicz.

But it didn't end there. Players across Reddit have reported large gatherings, fireworks, music, and merriment.

"On Belegaer, we gathered in front of Bag End, and to Lobelia's dislike, had a big firework," wrote one user. "There was music and mourning, and we all wished Ian godspeed on this last of journeys."

"On the French server Sirannon, we plan to walk for Ian," added another. "And maybe to finish this walk at the Celondim docks, where Bilbo left Middle Earth."

The Lord Of The Rings Online developer Standing Stone Games has obviously noticed what's going on, and has decided to get in on the fun itself. The Baggins' Birthday Quest is to be extended until July 23rd, while the Spring Festival will keep on rolling through to July 29th.

All in all, a touching - and well deserved - celebration of a wonderful actor and the character he brought to life for fans all over the world. Roads go ever on.