Robin is a Powers That Be character, appearing in the Knightmare RPG, who has been seen in RPG Season 4, RPG Season 6 and RPG Season 7. He was originally conceived by Kieran, Pooka and Adam Battersby. Pooka later rewrote his origin story to make it fit within RPG continuity.

In essence, he is Robin Hood, but a younger version of him. The reason for his appearance in the Dungeon is that Merlin, on Treguard's request, resurrected Robin Hood, but made a small mistake with the spell. Consequently, Robin was resurrected in his twenty-year-old body, rather than the form he was in when he died of old age. This is not shown on screen, rather it is present in a fanfic simply named "Robin", written by Pooka himself.

Although Neutral in RPG 4, by the end of said season he swore alliance to the Powers That Be by accepting a special amulet from the the Emperor Faloban, a friend to the PTB. In response to this, Lord Wraith fought and killed him. The Dungeon shifted at the end of the series, taking Robin's body with it, so in RPG Season 5 he was missing.

Upon his magical resurrection and re-appearance in RPG 6, Robin became a fighter for the PTB and is a general helper to Dungeoneers. He is not to be feared by anyone, but rather seen as an asset. He is also very good with a sword.

"Level 5", a fanfic (again by Pooka) speculating on what may have happened between RPG Seasons 6 and 7, places a lot of emphasis on Robin, where he aids the Powers That Be by acting as both fighter and messenger. It also explains the change in his costume between Seasons and expounds upon his bravery. He is also implied to be slightly promiscuous.

By his next screen appearance in RPG Series 7, Robin has regained all his powers and all his confidence. No longer is he a confused young man trying to piece together a fragmented life, he is a bold fighter and much more powerful, with a new haircut, a new costume and a dash of style to match! During the season, he guards the Woods of Level 2, explores in the caves of Level 3, and even goes so far as to battle with highwaymen and ogres!


Because Robin is pure of heart, he likes to help any characters that appear to be in danger, and although this is an altogether commendable thing to do, it does tend to get him into all kinds of scrapes, as he may rush into the fray without much preconceived thought about the consequences. Robin isn't possessed of any great "bookish" intelligence, although he's certainly not stupid, and has a little more wisdom than some of his PTB allies.
In Series 4, Robin was nearly always seen with Lance, who he loved like a brother, but by Series 6, Lance was dead, so Robin found companionship in the form of Kully, who he was often seen with. He could also be seen talking to Frégo, whom he had recognised from previous seasons. In Series 7, he developed a bond with Aranel, another young PTB fighter, and by the end of the season they had joined forces to fight against Gabriel and the Opposition.

What the future holds for Robin is a mystery, but whatever it is, he has his sword... and he'll be ready for it!

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The name Robin occasionally occurs among Knightmare contestants and fans. One of the advisors on Team 8 of Series 4 was Robin King. Apparently a fan of rhetorical questions but not of question marks, he wrote in the knightmare.com guestbook in October 2005: 'I cant believe this is on the internet. We were rather amazing weren't we! It was a real laugh and everything was paid for at the hotel so you cant go wrong with that can you!' Around the same time, Darren conducted an interview with Robin, but it sadly remains unpublished. Robin has since worked with his former team-mate Giles on various short films.

Where fans of Knightmare named Robin are concerned, Robin Hosgood has a number of comments on The Eye Shield's Bring Back Knightmare pages from 1999. They include a great many suggestions of improvements, including: better acting, contestants and prizes; three teams questing at once; interdimensional portals; a new title, such as Knightmare - The Second Coming or Knightmare 2000. In more recent years, however, the Knightmare community's foremost Robin has been Robin John Barlow, also known as Mashibinbin.

[Previous version: 2007-05-10 14:50:21]

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A version of Robin has appeared on the Knightmare Roleplay Forum. His character and background are much the same as his RPG incarnation (see definition above) - indeed, he too is played by Pooka. He has interacted with Surrounds' versions of Young Grimwold, Sylvester Hands and others, and was the first forum character to be seen visiting Holmgarth.

Robin's Character Profile on Knightmare Roleplay, via which one can read his first adventure and all subsequent adventures to date, can be found here.

[Previous version: 2006-07-25 16:38:48]

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