The main objective of this little mod was to add a challenging and fun fight in Firkraag's hideout.
I like Baldur's Gate a lot, and I wrote this mod (first version in 2010) to become a little familiar with modding stuff. Thanks to Gwendolyne, the BuTcHeRy is now compatible with the Enhanced Editions, EET and BGT. I also added a few improvements.
Secondary objectives are:
Allow players to achieve 'epic' fights in large rooms or spaces because it is really boring and frustrating to fight in a corridor, especially in BG2.
Bring BG2 as close as possible to a Dungeon crawler game.
Difficulty level scaling: difficulty will be adjusted according to the game difficulty level which can be set in the Gameplay subsection of the Options menu. (more details below)
Spice up many battles by turning them into 'butchery fights', with a few spawns and respawns.
Make a few non-spellcaster creatures a bit more challenging (while non cheated) using kit abilities, having proficiencies in weapons, etc.
Have challenging and charismatic bosses (Tazok, DigDag, Sarevok).
Keep 100% content of the original game. I add a few things, but I don't remove a single one.
Add some fun dialogues and cutscenes.
No big loots or new magical items.
Have 100% compatibility and optimization with Stratagems and Item Revisions (especially with its 'potions revisions' component).
This mod is designed to work on the following Infinity Engine games:
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition (BG2EE).
The original Baldur's Gate II (BG2, or just SoA), with the Throne of Bhaal (ToB) expansion. Make sure you have Throne of Bhaal patched to version 26498. Check the ReadMe files related to your patch in your game folder and the BioWare website if necessary.
BuTcHeRy is a WeiDU mod, and therefore should be compatible with all WeiDU mods. Though I am striving to make BuTcHeRy compatible with as many other mods as possible, there is always a chance that incompatibilities will arise. Below are the ones discovered thus far:
BuTcHeRY is not compatible with Revisited Battles component 'Improved Firkraag' (don't expect a crash, but an impossible fight).
The 'Revisited fight against Wraith Sarevok in the Abyss' component is not compatible with Angelo NPC mod for Baldur's Gate II.
☛ ⚠️ Original games players are strongly recommended to download and install the BG2 Fixpack before proceeding with the installation of this mod.
☛ You should also install the "auto resting" mod (from deratiseur) that allows you to restore your spells without having to rest for 8 hours. 😉
Here is the recommended installation order:
Please install BuTcHeRY after TobEx, BG2 Fixpack, Ascension, and EET.
Please install BuTcHeRY before any final "biffing" routines.
⚠️ As I use vanilla scripts, you can further increase the difficulty if you install the Stratagems mod ('Smarter general AI' component). The first components are to be installed before Stratagem for a better experience and difficulty while the other components are to be installed after Stratagems (read the details before installing each component).
If you've previously installed the mod, remove it before extracting the new version. To do this, run setup-butchery.exe (or .command with Mac OS), un-install all previously installed components and delete both 📁 butchery folder and setup-butchery.exe file.
When installing or un-installing, do not close the DOS window by clicking on the X button! Instead, press the Enter key whenever instructed to do so.
Disable any antivirus or other memory-resident software before installing this or any other mod. Some (particularly avast and Norton!) have a tendency to report false positives with mod activity, resulting in failed installs.
Enhanced Editions Note
The Enhanced Editions are actively supported games. Please note that every patch update will wipe your current mod setup! If in the middle of a modded game you might want to delay the patch update (if possible) as even after reinstalling the mods, you might not be able to continue with your old save games. Alternatively, copy the whole game's folder into a new one that can be modded and will stay untouched by game patches. It is important that you install the mod to the language version you are playing the game in. Otherwise, the dialogues of the mod will not show but give error messages.
Windows
BuTcHeRy for Windows is distributed as an extractable compressed archive and includes a WeiDU installer.
Extract the contents of the mod archive into the folder of the game you wish to modify (the folder which contains the "CHITIN.KEY" file), using 7zip, WinRAR, or another file compression utility that handles .zip files. On successful extraction, there should be a 📁 butchery folder and a setup-butchery.exe file in your game folder. To install, double-click setup-butchery.exe and follow the instructions on screen.
You can run setup-butchery.exe in your game folder to reinstall, un-install or otherwise change the components settings.
Mac OS
BuTcHeRy for OS is distributed in the same compressed archive and includes a WeiDU installer.
First, extract the files from the archive into your game directory. On successful extraction, there should be a 📁 butchery folder, setup-butchery and setup-butchery.command files in your game folder. To install, double-click setup-butchery.command and follow the instructions on screen.
You can run setup-butchery.command in your game folder to reinstall, un-install or otherwise the components settings.
Linux
BuTcHeRy for Linux is distributed in the same compressed archive and does not include a WeiDU installer.
Extract the contents of the mod to the folder of the game you wish to modify.
Download the latest version of WeiDU for Linux from WeiDU.org and copy weidu, weinstall and tolower to /usr/local/bin (create it if needed). Following that, open a terminal, cd to your game installation directory, run /usr/local/bin/tolower and answer 'Y' to both queries. You can avoid running the second option (linux.ini) if you've already run it once in the same directory. To save time, the archive is already tolowered, so there's no need to run the first option (lowercasing file names) either if you've extracted only this mod since the last time you lowercased file names. If you're unsure, running tolower and choosing both options is the safe bet.
To install, type export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin , then run weinstall setup-butchery in your game folder. Then run wine bgmain.exe (or wine baldur.exe for EE games) and start playing.
Note for Complete Un-installation
In addition to the methods above for removing individual components, you can completely un-install the mod using setup-butchery --uninstall at the command line to remove all components without wading through prompts.
The installer includes the following components. The number of each is the component 'DESIGNATED' number which gives it a fixed install position, lets other components and mods detect it and allows automated installers to specify component choices.
This is the latest major mod improvement. I know that it can be frustrating to have a too difficult -or easy- fight, so this new possibility will surely be appreciated. The numbers and variety of opponents are now adjusted according to the game difficulty level which can be set in the Gameplay subsection of the Options menu. These adjustments are reflected as follows:
☛Core Rules: normal and decent amount of enemies (no divine or arcane enemy spellcasters).
☛Difficult: a bit more numerous enemies and especially divine/arcane enemy spellcasters.
☛Very difficult: again, a few more enemies and even more divine/arcane enemy spellcasters.
Be aware that even with Core Rules, the challenge might be quite difficult (especially before Underdark) because this mod addresses players looking for a better challenge. 😉
[10]DrAzTiK's revisited fight against Tazok and DigDag
install before Stratagems
➽ This is the very first component, and the genesis of this mod.
I have always found the fight against Tazok and DigDag in Firkraag's Hideout nothing more than a pathetic joke. Obviously, Firkaag is supposed to be an optional boss (like the shadow dragon) surely unbeatable before Underdark. All banters and interjections suppose the party wants to escape before engaging Firkraag without thinking twice and come back later, really later.
So I assume Tazok and DigDag are supposed to be the big villains in Firkaag's lair and IMO the fight deserves to be a bit more challenging and fun. The fight vs Tazok and DigDag will now take place where you usually fight Firkraag (AR1203). Don't worry, you will be also able to fight Firkraag. This component doesn't modify or tweak creatures at all except:
DigDag gets a new script, letting him have some new dialogs and drink 2 potions before fighting.
Tazok gets a new script, allowing him to drink 2 potions before fighting.
This component also adds some of my custom creatures and especially two fighters of my own composition. Their duty is to protect Tazok and DigDag during the final fight.
⚠️ Note for English language players:
Two new creatures get their own sound sets, unfortunately only available in French. But they have been traified for the latest version 😉 and are only waiting for their English sound files. If anyone would provide them, I would be pleased to include them in the next version. 🙂
➽ This component improves stats, saving throws, hit points and skill points of a few generic creatures (orc and ogre fighters at the beginning, and many animals and other creatures as of version 5.0.0). Most of them have now a barbarian or berserker kit, a weapon which suits their avatars, etc, but I often keep their vanilla level. But you will need to install Stratagems for these creatures to use their special abilities.
Enemy skeletons and mummies' abilities are standardized: they still have 100% resistance to electricity and cold and 10% magic resistance per level. Their resistance to missile attacks is 90%. This makes them fearsome foes.
In addition, some of the "half-bosses" have had their combat stats and equipment upgraded a bit (Ilyich in particular).
Creature
Kit
Level (ex)
XP (ex)
HP (ex)
Strength (ex)
Constitution (ex)
Weapon proficiency
OGRE01
Berserker
5 (4)
600 (270)
50 (30)
20 (18/100)
18 (9)
MORNING STAR & MACE +++
ORC01
Barbarian
5 (4)
600 (95)
50 (35)
19 (18/10)
18 (9)
AXE ++
ORC02
--
5
600 (35)
50 (35)
18 (11)
17 (10)
COMPOSITE LONG BOW +++ & BASTARD ++
ORC05 (Orog)
Barbarian
7 (4)
800 (600)
91 (40)
20 (18/53)
20 (9)
TWO-HANDED SWORD +++
ORC06 (Orog)
Berserker
7 (4)
800 (175)
75 40)
20 (18/92)
20 (9)
TWO-HANDED SWORD +++
Except high scores in STR and CON, these creatures have now the same features and obey the same rules as other humanoids (thac0, saves, hit point, kit bonus etc..), except they remain a bit slow, have an incredible morale and a good AC.
You will find mostly these creatures only in Windspear Hills and in Firkraag's Hideout. I also added a lot of them in my mod (the reason why I wrote this component).
I didn't modify vanilla fighting scripts at all. So if you don't install Stratagems 'Smarter general AI' component, these creatures will not use their kit abilities.
Of course, I am open to critiques about my balance.
➽ In vanilla, Tazok is an ORC Level 18 standard fighter, and DigDag an ORC level 12 standard fighter. This component tweaks Tazok slightly (slightly better saving throws and HP), turns DigDag into a Berserker, and improves their levels by one (level 19 for Tazok and 13 for DigDag). There are also cosmetic changes: Tazok is now a half ogre again (as in BG1) while DigDag inherits the OROG CHIEFTAIN animation. Their equipments, stats and proficiencies are tweaked a bit, especially DigDag's.
Creature
Kit
Level (ex)
XP (ex)
HP (ex)
Strength (ex)
Constitution (ex)
Weapon proficiency
Tazok
--
19 (18)
12000 (6000)
154 (136)
--
--
TWO-HANDED SWORD +++++
FIRorc01 (DigDag)
Berserker
13 (12)
7000 2000)
107 (99)
22 (17)
22 (9)
BASTARD SWORD +++++
Note: If you want Tazok to be a berserker, you must install Stratagems 'Smarter general AI' component (no compatibility issue).
[20]Groumf and Bourrinos Encounter at Firkraag's Hideout entrance
install before Stratagems
➽ This component adds a small fight and a funny encounter with 2 funny characters at Firkraag's Hideout entrance, the same ones who serve as Tazok's bodyguards if you have installed the previous components.
[30]Revisited fight against Wraith Sarevok in the Abyss
install before Stratagems
➽ This component greatly improves the final battle against Sarevok in the layer of the Abyss once ruled by Bhaal. He will be assisted by his former teammates from BG1.
⚠️ This component is content-wise not compatible with Angelo NPC for Baldur's Gate II.
[32] Add battle songs in some areas that do not have any
install before or after Stratagems
➽ This component assigns battle song to a few areas that don't have one: Temple City (The Forgotten Believers), Sewers beneath Coronet, Shadow Temple land shadowed, Troll Cave (Spellhold test), and Tethyr Wood.
➽ This component greatly modifies the battle against Yaga-Shura army in ToB to make it longer and more difficult. It was designed to be fully operational with Ascension (David Wallace's version) and Stratagems. Therefore I strongly recommend to install it together with these two mods to fully enjoy it.
[54]Butchery in Bodhi's Hideout (chapter 2, before Underdark) - Vampires
install after Stratagems
➽ This component adds a battle against a few dozen enemies in Bodhi's Hideout (chapter 2, before Underdark).
Note: The traps on the spiked floor in the torture room with the blood-encrusted drain have been deactivated so that you can fight there without any hindrance.
[55]Butchery in Bodhi's Hideout (chapter 6, after Underdark) - Vampires
install after Stratagems
➽ This component adds a battle against a few dozen enemies in Bodhi's Hideout (chapter 6, after Underdark).
Note: The traps on the spiked floor in the torture room with the blood-encrusted drain have been deactivated so that you can fight there without any hindrance.
➽ This component adds a battle against a few dozen enemies in front of Pai'Na's Hideout entrance (Bodhi's Hideout), the Temple City (Unseeing Eye Plot) area, Watcher's Keep 1st floor (Altar level) and in the area outside Sendai's Hideout.
➽ This component adds a battle against a few dozen skeletons throughout the game: in the lower tombs of Athkatla (Southern Dungeons), in the Shadow Temple Land (shadowed) at the Temple of Amaunator entrance, in Spellhold (Bodhi's Hunt Level 1), the Watcher's Keep (Helmite Level - Last Seals), and two in Nyalee's Hideout.
➽ This component adds a lot of enemies in areas that are usually very quiet and unchallenging. This makes the gameplay more like a Dungeon Crawler, like in Icewind Dale.
Note: This component being quite difficult, unlike the previous ones, adjusting the difficulty level of the game will have no effect. However, I have taken care to set a reasonable challenge.
► List of affected areas:
☛Waukeen's Promenade
AR0601: Air Plane in Irenicus's Dungeon
AR0602: Irenicus's Dungeon 1st Floor
AR0603: Irenicus's Dungeon 2nd Floor
AR0600: Circus Tent (phased)
AR0605: Circus Tent 2nd Floor
AR0606: Circus Tent 3rd Floor
☛Slums District
AR0404: Sewers beneath Coronet
AR0418: Sewers beneath Coronet (Myconids)
AR0405: Slaver's Ship Building
AR0419: Planar Sphere (Myconid)
AR0420: Planar Sphere (Lizardmen Hideout)
☛Temple District
AR0201: Leading to ghoul village and beholder lair
AR0206: Ghoul village
AR0204: The Forgotten Believers - Temple City (Unseeing Eye Plot)
AR0205: The Beholder Hideout (Unseeing Eye Plot)
☛Bridge
AR0502: Tanner's Hideout Cellar
AR0503: Tanner's Hideout Dock
AR0525: House 1st Floor
AR0701: The Sewers
☛Graveyard
AR0801: Bodhi's Hideout (sided with Aran)
AR0803: Bodhi's Lair (sided with Aran)
AR0802: Netherscroll, Korgan's Book, Edwin
AR0805: Crypt
AR0810: Crypt
AR0811: Crypt
AR0812: Crypt
☛Other SoA areas
AR1106: Umar's Cave
AR1201: Firkraag's Entrance
AR1202: Firkaag's Maze
AR2013: Trademeet Crypt
☛ToB
AR2602: Forest of Tethyr: Cave in Woods to Suldanessellar
If you should encounter any bugs, please report them to the authors at the BuTcHeRy forum. In addition, BuTcHeRy is available on GitHub, so fixes and changes can be submitted by the community.
These are some general tips if you have problems getting the game working, with or without this or other mods. Many times, errors have to do with the game engine itself or the manner of installation or gameplay. The game recommends deleting all files out of the cache, /temp and /tempsave 📁 sub-folders in your game folder to see if that resolves the problem before any further troubleshooting.
☛Symptom: Game freezes or crashes to desktop (CTDs)
Sometimes the game displays an 'assertion error' in a pop-up window when this happens, but often times it doesn't. To enable the full error message, open the file baldur.ini in your game folder with a text editor (such as Notepad). If you find you can't edit it or save changes in Windows Vista or 7, see this topic for assistance.
Under the [Program Options] section in the file, type Logging On=1 (unless it's already there). While you're there, you may also want to make sure Debug Mode=1 is there to enable the CLUA Console for debugging and testing. Save the file and exit. Now go back into the game and try to reproduce the crash. Then look in your game folder again for the Baldur.err file and open it with a text editor to analyse its contents.
☛Symptom:
ERROR: error copying [infinityanimations/content/somefile.bam]
ERROR: [SOMEFILE.CRE] -> [override/SOMEFILE.CRE] Patching failed (COPY)
Stopping installation because of error.
(with no other error message)
Less-than-informative messages like these may indicate you're installing to a hard drive with a low data transfer rate or an antivirus program is active during installation (which can also affect data transfer). Try installing to an internal drive with antivirus protection disabled during the install. If unsure, disconnect from the Internet (either unplug your network cable or disable your wireless adaptor) and turn off all memory-resident programs during the install. To get a list of these, go to Start > Run and type msconfig where it says "Open:", then click OK. When the System Configuration Utility appears, click on the Startup tab. The only really necessary programs that need to be loaded in memory at startup are those related to your graphics chip (typically ATI or NVIDIA). Uncheck everything else, reboot and try installing the mod again. There are well-documented issues with installing mods while Avast antivirus is running, so make absolutely sure all components of Avast are completely disabled.
☛Other issues
If you have more than one large mod installed, please refer to the Megamod FAQ for more troubleshooting tips.
If none of this resolves your issue, or you have mod-specific issues, please report the problem in the mod's forum. Include the contents of your WeiDU.log file in the post, or attach it if it's large.
BuTcHeRy is not developed, supported, or endorsed by BioWare™ or Interplay/BlackIsle, Overhaul, Beamdog or the Wizards of the Coast. It was developed by DrAzTiK, based on material from the game Baldur's Gate II and its expansion.
If there are any copyright issues or this statement needs revision, then please contact me and advise me what to do about it. Most notably, if you see any artwork in this mod that might conflict with Copyright rules, please let me know as soon as possible, and I will remove the conflicting content immediately.
This mod was created to be freely enjoyed by all Baldur's Gate II players, and its content is free of rights. Feel free to borrow what you need if you find something interesting. I will not sue anyone, don't worry.
BuTcHeRy > Credits and Acknowledgements • BACK TO TOP
Version History
Version 5.0.0 (November 5, 2021)
Added butchery.ini metadata file (including dynamic installation syntax and global LABELS) to support AL|EN's "Project Infinity".
Replaced AUTHOR keyword with SUPPORT.
Added Immutability concept.
Added REQUIRE_PREDICATE conditions to avoid installing components in inaccurate games.
Commented code as much as possible.
Fixed installer to avoid installing the same files more than once, regardless of the components installed.
Added native EET compatibility.
Added chapters continuity for EET games.
Provided accurate sized NPC portraits for EE games.
Added "Groumf and Bourrinos Encounter at Firkraag's Hideout entrance" component.
Added "Groumf and Bourrinos Encounter at Brynnlaw" component.
Added "Groumf and Bourrinos Encounter in the Underdark" component.
Added "Revisited fight against Wraith Sarevok in the Abyss" component.
Added "Add battle songs in some areas that do not have any" component.
Added "DrAzTiK's Creatures" component.
Added "Butchery in Irenicus Dungeon (Dwarves)" component.
Added "Butchery in the Forest of Tethyr (Animals and Druids)" component.
Added "Butchery in the planar sphere (Demonic creatures)" component.
Added "3 butcheries in Spellhold (Golems, Vampires and Trolls)" component.
Added "Butchery in Windspear Hills (Orcs)" component.
Added "Butchery in Umar Hills (Wolves)" component.
Added "2 butcheries in Trademeet and outside Watcher's Keep (Animals)" component.
Added "2 butcheries of Golems in Suldanessellar and Watcher's Keep (Machine of Lum the Mad floor)" component.
Added "Butchery of Yaga-Shura revisited" component.
Added "Butchery in the Druid Grove area (Animals and Druids)" component.
Added "Butchery in the Beholder Hideout (Fanatics)" component.
Added "Butchery in Bodhi's Hideout (chapter 2, before Underdark) - Vampires" component.
Added "Butchery in Bodhi's Hideout (chapter 6, after Underdark) - Vampires" component.
Added "2 butcheries of Sahuagins in Sahuagin City and Watcher's Keep (Githyanki Encampment)" component.
Added "4 butcheries of spiders in Pai'Na's Hideout entrance, Temple City (Unseeing Eye Plot), Watcher's Keep first floor (Altar level) and in the area outside Sendai's Hideout" component.
Added 6 butcheries of skeletons in the lower tombs of Athkatla, Shadow Temple Land, Spellhold, Watcher's Keep (Last Seals), and 2 in Nyalee's Hideout" component.
Added "More enemies scattered throughout the game" component.
Added "Cosmetic component" component.
"DrAzTiK's revisited fight against Tazok and DigDag" component:
Renamed .tpa file name to 10_improved_tazok_fight.tpa.
Flagged potions as "undroppable" in creatures' inventories.
Added Continue() action when appending are .bcs files with EXTEND_TOP command.
"Rebalancing some generic creatures" component:
Renamed .tpa file name to 11_rebalancing_creatures.tpa.
Improved more creatures' statistics.
"Rebalancing Tazok and DigDag" component:
Renamed .tpa file name to 12_rebalancing_tazok.tpa.
Flagged potions as "undroppable" in creatures' inventories.
Compiled "d9tazokk.baf" if 1st component has not been installed.
Added Russian translation (by yota13).
Proofread English strrefs and completed English translation (Gwendolyne and Lauriel).
Added brand new butchery-readme-%LANGUAGE%.html files, with videos, and moved them into new 📁 "readme" folder. 😉
Lower cased files.
Included Linux and mac OS versions in the same package (thanks AL|EN's Infinity Auto Packager tool!).
Added OggDec v1.9.7 and sox v14.4.1 for Mac.
Added archive libiconv-1.9.2-1-src.7z with iconv license info.
Updated WeiDU installer to v247.
Version 4.0.0 (October 20, 2018)
General overhaul and relooking:
Integrated all BWP Fixpack patches: Lollorian's override compilation fix (changes COMPILE~xyz.d/baf~ ~override~ to COMPILE~xyz.d/baf~) and unknown origin patch that set ORC05.CRE's BG1 Long Swords proficiency to 0.
Provided full compatibility with Stratagems and Item Revisions.
tp2 commented and split into components for easier further updates.
Reorganized components (DESIGNATED numbers).
Added BG2EE compatibility (probably with EET, but not yet tested).
Fixed wrong coding: turned WRITE_SHORT 0x028 to WRITE_LONG 0x028 (animation slot is a dword, not a word!) and WRITE_BYTE 0x242 to WRITE_SHORT 0x242 (Morale recovery is a word, not a byte).
Polished WRITE_ASCII command with #n.
No longer overwrites mod item files if there are already installed.
Used new WeiDU variables (INV RING QITEM...) with ADD_CRE_ITEM command.
Provided new portraits for BG2:EE.
Reworked install procedure to use WeiDU's built-in HANDLE_AUDIO function to install sound sets.
Used WeiDU's built-in HANDLE_CHARSETS function to convert string entries for EE games.
Removed unused files from mod folder.
Updated readme (Butchery now supports translated readmes)
Revamped French translation and fixed English typos courtesy of Gwendolyne.
Traified creatures sound sets (still waiting for English sound files).
Reorganized and merged tra files into 3 files.
Updated installer WeiDU to v246.
Components specific modifications and fixes: please read the change-log file.
Version 3.2 (October 10, 2011)
Increased Tazok to level 19 Barbarian.
Added a magical armor to Tazok.
Increased DigDag to level 13 Berserker.
Decreased the number of Orcs spawned in final fight.
Version 3 (March 1, 2011)
Better compatibility with SCS II (especially more sensible choices of weapon proficiencies and kits for fighters component).
