Caine and the second generation will not be named as such; instead I would be utilising the actual pantheon of ancient Mesopotamia and the player base would all begin as real, Mesopotamian people - mortals. Of different classes and backgrounds, living their lives until a growing catastrophe has forced unlikely people to come together.
For the most part you will not know what a vampire is IC, or see one. This is the very origin of the creature and it’s myth. It is not the weakened blood-subsisting force you are used to. Some will preferentially consume blood, but others swallow names, dreams, nightmares, children, virgins, livestock, more abstract concepts such as love, justice and trust. The Disciplines do not yet exist as you know them.
This is the most PvP option.
Although WoD, this choice is for a game which has NO obvious who-is-what labels. It is more a game where you’re just living your life trying to get by as a growing threat darkens the city. It’s intended that player characters are unsure what is going on, or whether the real threat is external or internal, and already close to their hearts. Victimisation, gothic horror, slow-burn but very big PvE antagonism.
Ultimately what might look like a vampire might not be (because this is the ancient world; people put their wrists into strange receiving holes in walls and give sustenance to gods anyway), it might even be another WoD creature that has its interests in protecting your family or name. There are many things in the world of darkness living in temperamental coexistence at this point, and human superstition accounts for some of it too.
This is the most PvE game, players are driven to work together a little more through story choices and interacrtion with NPCs. Social PvP is permitted but is not a focus. No PvP deaths without OOC opt-in and discussion.
No "World of Darkness" and instead more room for personal stories; a historical "larger than life" game with supernatural elements; local plot/faction drama is prioritised as the bulk of game life. Intimate smaller-scale stories weave together to form the greater plot. Meaningful human lives. Morrowind-esque. High detail.
Lots of fun lore to get personally attached to, many niche directions for player characters to take (including into the purely mundane or purely supernatural). Vampirism, necromancy, lycanthropy etc exists but is the stuff of stories or dismissed as fancy, and no one calls it by modern names. Novel take on some creatures. Sandbox, ancient life simulator, small interactions matter. Religions, cults, magic and mundane. Strong economy, focus is on your lives and their impact on the world, rather than the world impacting on you.
There is a "world plot" in addition to faction and career plots but it is a background priority, on the backburner/world plot helps tension and can be chased but does not require engagement with. Mostly "world plot" helps drive social drama at a top-down level, and most NPCs will ignore it Game of Thrones style because their own lives matter more to them than whatever the hell is affecting the Grasslanders out yonder. (Who cares about them, anyway?)
This is the most freeform option. PvE and PvP exists - but NO PvP death without choice; there is opt-in permadeath from PvP - trust me, PLENTY of ways to take grievances out IC in ways that are fun OOC for everyone ;) You can die if you want, but I would rather make player deaths meaningful rather than stray assassinations. It takes heart to create meaningful characters; I'd like to put them through stuff, rather than out of stuff.)
