reinstall the game from scratch: delete the previous version (don't forget to back up your saves if you need them), download the full version, and reinstall it on SOD or TE. There's no way that something that used to work is now not working. The reason for the error: there's a file in the Data folder called H3bitmap.lod - this is where new game resources are packed. The WOG programmer wrote a program called simplelod.exe, which had a bug and corrupted the file in the archive on some versions of SOD. This file is the frame for the orange player in the tavern. The error occurred with 100% consistency, whether in single-player or online. As soon as the frame for the orange player was supposed to be displayed in the tavern, the game would crash. It seems you were playing with Satyr and Warlock, and the 2-player skirmish doesn't have an orange player in the tavern. In short, reinstall the game, and everything will be fine.