‘Lord of the Rings’ megafans staged a huge re-enactment of a climactic battle

REUTERS/David W Cerny

Hyper-dedicated fans of J.R.R. Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings” series — including the prequel, “The Hobbit” — got together to stage a homemade version of the climactic Battle of the Five Armies. These photos, taken in the Czech Republic, show off the incredible attention to detail of their weapons and armor, and luckily Reuters was there to capture it all.

This level of LARPing, aka live action role playing, takes serious dedication. The cosplayers have crafted axes and spears, and wear dense metal armor with painted heraldry drawn straight from the books.

Plus, it looked like a ton of fun.  

“Czech” out the cosplayers and their incredible weapons and armor below.

There were dozens of participants in the epic Battle of the Five Armies re-enactment, with several LARPers cosplaying as nonhuman enemies.

The five armies in the “Hobbit” novel included orcs and goblins, wargs, dwarves, elves, and humans.

The LARPers used face paint and make-up to transform into the evil armies of the orcs, goblins, and wargs.

Suit armor is expensive, heavy, and inflexible. Battling in the forest while wearing it must take true dedication.

Marketers for sports drinks are really missing out on a key demographic: goblin warriors.

These three LARPers wore masks and in the dark, they probably looked like the deformed, nightmarish goblins.

This guy’s helmet looks straight out of “Skyrim.” It appears he’s facing off against a wizard.

This goblin on the left has joined the Battle of the Five Armies with a scimitar​. So intense.

Although it’s a large battle with a lot of participants, the cosplayers were very attentive to detail — the makeup​ and furs are almost movie quality.

The homemade weapons look insane! These spear tips are sharp and look lethal, while the shields are painted with different heraldry.

The weapons they used included spears, hand axes, maces, bows, halberds, and two-handed swords.

Things got heated.

A moment of silence for this brave orc warrior, gone in his prime.

The detailing for this body armor is also fantastic, and stays true to how the Orcs are portrayed both in the books and on-screen: in terrifying, tattered​ animal skins.

And finally, there’s this guy: He’s either yawning, belching, or letting out a terrifying battle cry.

You can see more of the LARPing series over on Reuters.

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