Ravenloft: Strahd's Condition

"What about children?" "No, not children. That would be messed up." Chasing a burglar who stole a holy symbol, Somers the Paladin and Quill the Ranger have been transported to a strange alternate Transylvanish dimension, full of gloom and fog, ruled by a shadowy figure named Strahd von Zarovich. Strahd presides from his gothic castle over a land of thieves, werewolves, and gypsies. A thin remnant of humanity, putatively ruled by a Burgomaster, huddles in the half-abandoned town of Barovia. Although every player going into this game knows that Strahd is a vampire, the word has not yet been uttered in the game itself. Last session, we accepted Strahd's invitation to visit his castle, where he intimated that he's as trapped in this realm as we are. He asked us to investigate rumors of a dimensional portal in a cavern. Along the way, we were joined by a cleric named Irmgarde (also looking for a way out) and a fighter named Vladislav, who looked suspiciously like Strahd himself. We found…