The Butcher (Lore)

"Ah...Fresh meat!"

- The Butcher^(src)

The Butcher
Title	Flesh Carver
Gender	Male
Race	Demon
Affiliation	Burning Hells Coven
Class	Overlord/Butcher Demon
Occupation	Servant of Diablo (formerly) Servant of Andariel (formerly) Servant of Maghda
Status	Deceased
Appearances	Diablo Diablo III Dungeons and Dragons: Diablo II Edition The Awakening Deckard Cain's Journal Writings of Abd al-Hazir (mentioned only) Book of Cain

The Butcher was an infamous demon who twice plagued Khanduras.

A bloated and grotesque creature, The Butcher was a sadistic being that relished in the torture and pain of others. It was also masochistic, and its own hands were damaged as the result of its torture. It hunted endlessly for fresh meat.

Biography

"Big! Big cleaver killing all my friends. Couldn't stop him, had to run away, couldn't save them. Trapped in a room with so many bodies... So many friends... Noooooooooo!"

- Farnham, reliving his ordeal with The Butcher^(src)

The Darkening of Tristram

The Butcher

While the Butcher Demons were once servants of Diablo, this particular Butcher was a servant of Andariel by the Darkening of Tristram, though at the least, acted in a manner that served the Lord of Terror's ends. The creature first made itself known to the people of Tristram when Lazarus led them into the depths of the Cathedral as part of a trap. A horde of demons set upon the townsfolk, The Butcher among them. Wielding a cleaver as large as an axe, the creature cut down any who stood against it. Some townsfolk made it back to the surface, but the wounds that The Butcher inflicted left them festering with disease, that even the town's healer found almost impossible to treat.

The Butcher made his lair in a chamber in the lower levels of the Cathedral. Prior to the return of Prince Aidan, at least one group of adventurers stumbled across the beast. They had entered the cathedral for loot, but found themselves beset by Imps, before finally The Butcher himself descended on them. All but one of them were killed, as the only survivor left his friends to die. However, The Butcher managed to inflict a wound on his arm that nearly took it off, leaving Tristram's healer with no choice but to remove the limb.

The Butcher encountered

The Butcher met his end at the hands of Aidan, as well as two companions. As they approached his chamber, they heard the screams of his victims, and blood pouring out from the door. Opening it, they beheld The Butcher, who grinned at the promise of fresh meat before setting on them with his cleaver. However, they were able to dispatch the beast.

Butcher's Return

Twenty years later, the Butcher was resurrected in service to the Coven. The demon was encountered by the Nephalem deep in the Halls of Agony, beneath Leoric's Manor. In a bid to stop them, Maghda released the Butcher, a demon similar to the one that had plagued Tristram over two decades ago. However, the Nephalem was able to defeat the demon and continue their search for the Stranger.

In-game

Diablo I

Main article: The Butcher (Diablo I)

The Butcher is an optional boss in Diablo I.

Diablo III

Main article: The Butcher (Diablo III)

The Butcher is the boss of Act I in Diablo III.

Heroes of the Storm

For more information, see the respective article on Heroes of the Storm Wikia

The Butcher as depicted in HotS

The Butcher is available as a melee assassin hero in Heroes of the Storm. His abilities include the creation of floor fires over time (Furnace Blast) and charge (Ruthless Onslaught).

As a nod to the famous quote, the Butcher has a passive trait called Fresh Meat.

He does not retain the Ancient Spear skill, instead being able to chain an enemy to a specific location.

Trivia

This section contains facts and trivia relevant to this article.

• In Warcraft universe, Abomination creatures are clearly inspired by The Butcher (yelling "Fresh meat!" on attack, and using meat cleavers and meat hooks as weapons). In World of Warcraft, The Butcher is a boss bearing resemblance to the Diablo III Butcher.

• Pudge the Butcher, a character from Defense of the Ancients, draws heavy inspiration from The Butcher and Warcraft Abominations. His ultimate, Dismember, makes him call out "Ahh... Fresh Meat!" when used, which can be heard anywhere on the map. He also uses a large cleaver as his main weapon.

• In the game Borderlands 2 there is a shotgun called the Hyperion Butcher with the description "Ahh... Fresh Meat!"

• In the RPG game Fallout 2 there is a slaver's guild, when you first enter you are greeted with the words "Ah, fresh meat....". The guild's leader is called Metzger, which is German for Butcher.

• The 2011 game Dead Island references The Butcher's famous greeting; one of the Achievements is called "Ah! Spoiled meat!" It involves killing a special zombie also called a "Butcher" using an axe.