Series 4, Quest 5. Fatilla the Hun checks his permitted list for the dungeoneer's name.

Fatilla the Hun

By Keith McDonald

Fatilla was a simple-minded barbarian guard that most Series 4 teams had to negotiate through bribes or by outwitting him.


Fatilla - a play on Atilla the Hun - was a dense barbarian guard in the vein of Gumboil and Olaf from earlier series.

He guards the Level 1 wellway and the surrounding areas, including the Fortress of Doom and the Ruins of Dungarth.

I will blip you, then I will blop you.

Fatilla

Fatilla the Hun, played by Michael Cule in Series 4 of Knightmare (1990).

Easily persuaded

While Fatilla claimed that nobody gets past him on guard duty, everybody did.

He was easily bribed with objects, including gold (which he initially mistakes as food). Teams also used flattery or convinced Fatilla that they are on a permitted list.

One team had to resort to a spell, while some are helped by the booming voice of Oakley.

In a new dungeon dynamic, Fatilla was a test of teams' persuasive skills, as actor Michael Cule recalls.

One occasion where I was playing Fatilla, the dungeoneer was being really flattering and saying how wonderful I was, and Tim Child through the earpiece was just encouraging me to go with it! I ended up just being as complimentary and let them go past, not worrying about what was originally planned.

Michael Cule

Knightmare Series 4 Quest 5. Fatilla reads out his permitted list for the wellway.

Unusual set-pieces

Fatilla was involved in two unusual set-pieces.

Pickle rescues one team from Fatilla by persuading him that the dungeoneer is a scout. It is the only time that one of Treguard's assistants appears in the dungeon.

In a bizarre sequence in Level 2, Fatilla intercepts the dungeoneer and Gundrada, which triggers an ADORE spell.

As he scuttles on his knees after the sword mistress, this also triggers a SLOW spell, which lets the dungeoneer escape.

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