Yesterday, on what would have been J. R. R. Tolkien’s 132nd birthday, fans across the world raised a glass to the Professor in an annual toasting tradition encouraged by the fan group, the Tolkien Society. This birthday celebration was particularly poignant as, were the author still alive, he would have outlived the oldest ever Hobbit, one Bilbo Baggins.

However, some fans decide to celebrate Tolkien’s legacy in a virtual setting by logging into popular MMO The Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). The troupe gathered on the Laurelin server and headed to the Bird and Baby Inn in Michel Delving (The Shire, if you’re not familiar with Middle-earth cartography). There, organiser Tim Bolton, known in-game as Ranatuor, gave a rousing, annual speech to honour the professor, before everyone raised a glass in a toast.

Image courtesy of BeckyOB on Twitter/X

This year’s toast had a few technical difficulties on Bolton’s part, but soon got underway. As annual gaming traditions go, this is one of the most heartwarming, but that’s not always the case.

Bolton notes in his invitation that he has noticed an increase in griefing over the past few years, where some people attend the event with the sole intention of spoiling it for others. “Laurelin has sadly seen the rise of griefing and other abusive behaviour towards people and events,” he says. “It’s sad to note that for the first time I am having to put such a warning into the adverts of events I run, because the behaviour of people online is at an all-time low. If you witness any griefing of host or guests, please feel free to report it through the proper channels.”

Yesterday’s event seemed to go off without a hitch, but the fact that Bolton has noticed an increase in abusive behaviour and goes as far as to state “the behaviour of people online is at an all-time low” is indicative of modern online gaming. For every player trying to roleplay, learn a new FPS game, or simply exist in an online space, there’s a toxic teammate screaming abuse down their mic.

A Video Of The LOTRO Tolkien Toast From 2017, Tolkien's 125th Birthday

Despite the rise in toxicity, yesterday’s toast was a roaring success. After the speeches and drinking, some players embarked on a short tour to find Ronald Dwale, a LOTRO character who is an analogue of Professor Tolkien. Dwale bears little resemblance to the Lord of the Rings author, but his name is an obvious reference and his quests, if you haven’t already completed them, are all references to Tolkien’s real life.

The first, in which you must locate a lead dog lost by Dwale’s son, is a reference to Tolkien’s story Roverandom, about an adventuring pup. For the second, Dwale asks you to recover a leaf of paper that he lost, upon which was writ the opening to a story he’d begun for his children. This is an obvious reference to the opening of The Hobbit, which Tolkien explained “On a blank leaf I scrawled: 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit’ ”, in a 1955 letter to long-time friend W. H. Auden, known as Letter 163.

Finally, Dwale asks you to inform his colleagues in his writing society that he won’t be able to make their regular meeting at the Bird and Baby Inn, the very same public house where the annual toast now occurs. You are to tell Jack Lewisdown (C. S. ‘Jack’ Lewis), Owen Barfield (Owen Farfield), and Charles Williams (Carlo Williams), of Dwale’s tardiness, three LOTRO characters who clearly reference Tolkien’s friends of The Inklings literary discussion group, who met at the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford.

From Tolkien references in-game to the fan-created memorial toast, Bolton and LOTRO have presented a modern way to honour the professor on his birthday, in accordance with the toasting suggestions laid out by the Tolkien Society. It’s impossible to know what Tolkien would have made of this tradition, The Lord of the Rings Online, or video games in general, but as one of the most lore-accurate Tolkien adaptations around, I’m sure he’d limit his grumbles to those about a reliance on technology and encouraging players to touch grass.

However, modern fans have modern traditions. And when players come together for a roleplay-lite gathering to honour the author who created the books they love, in an adaptation of said work, it’s a beautiful thing. With so much negativity and toxic behaviour in online communities, these players are starting 2024 with a burst of positivity that we all hope will reverberate through the rest of the year.

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