How To Start HOW, Confused, Help

[Elowin]

I beat the IWD end game and the game ends with credits etc. NOW, how do I enter HOW?

I have everything including the TOTL loaded. The only way I can seamlessly play out HOW is to enter the cabin in Kuldahar BEFORE using the six badges to confront Poquelin. Once the party returns to Easthaven in the End Game, there is no way to access the world map and return to Kuldahar again.

It would seem that the FAQ, written some time ago, is incorrect. It states:

"Q: What if some of my characters died at the end of Icewind Dale? A: ...Never fear. As long as you *beat the endgame*, the computer will have saved your characters and recorded their information (minus their death, poisoned, diseased, or other harmful states) and will allow you to import them into the expansion with no hassles. So don't run through the end battle again and again..."

Actually, that is correct but the game then ends. It does not take you back to Kuldahar to rest up where the party can then enter the cabin and enter HOW.

Two related questions: 1) From a story and/or immersion point of view in the game it seems *unfair/impractical* to just up and quit disposing of Poquelin (I know that isn't the End Game bad guy but I did not write down his name--started with and 'H' I think? ) with Icwind Dale hanging in balance to enter the cabin in Kuldahar and go off on some new quests?

2) How does HOW end? Do you step back out the cabin into Kuldahar where you then can continue INTO the End Game of Icewind Dale?

Feelings... This is exactly what I don't like about Expansion Packs. They make the *game/story* disjointed. It would be FAR better for me if IWD ended and HOW started anew then trying to play them seamlessly. Unless I am missing understanding something here, I expected IWD's End Game to end and that the party would then continue back to Kuldahar where we would enter the cabin and continue on with HOW and that HOW would then have an ending!

Thank you. Sorry to write so much but this seems to be the only way I can play great adventures. Since *Adventures* in and of themselves are dead-like I can make a great adventure still out of CRPG like BG, TOTSC, PST, and IWD/HOW, but I need this element of seamlessness and immersion to follow in the expansion packs. In conclusion, if my understanding is correct, I think the FAQ and HOW manuals should be revised to indicate *clearly* that if you are playing IWD you need to compleate the HOW quest(s) BEFORE using the six badges to confront Poquelin and there needs to be a better feel maybe, in the story, that everything will still be as it was if you return to the IWD End Game weeks (in game time) later.

I hope that BioWare and Black Isle read this for input. I'm going to enter HOW now before using the badges in IWD and then I will play out the IWD end game again, forgetting the NPC character suffering in the story going on in Easthaven--it will be as it was when we play out the IWD End Game again.

[Durwyn]

Hmmm. I believe you load in How CD, you start the expansion game with your Characters from IWD. I believe that how you get it, not sure...

[Garnet FalconDance]

yep, you 'create game', 'expansion only', and then you'll be asked if you want to use the party from your IWD game...say yes and you're in! You may be prompted to redo appearances and voices (can't remember but I did for ToL yesterdaY). You are then transported directly to Lonelywood and meet the barbarian shaman right away. The fun begins!

The HoW disc is only for install. Use IWD disc for HoW and ToL. And after you finish HoW, you go thru a similar create game scenario for ToL (which really upsets me!) and start in HoW....(anymore and it would be a spoiler )