So, I had a recent discussion about how and why the VtM IP would never have any value for a film or television project. The gist of my argument was that outside of the specific Caine-origin, Antediluvians, Gehenna (which are way bigger in scope/fx budget than most would want to deal with) there’s just nothing in VtM that hasn’t already been borrowed piecemeal and added to the general body of vampire lore.
Anyway, I bring that up because as an example of how worthless the IP is vs. just letting your writing team come up with their own beast, I demonstrated how you could get pretty much the exact same “street level” setup (clans with different abilities, sects, etc.) as VtM with all of a couple minutes effort.
And since I know you’d prefer something divorced from VtM lore, I figured I’d share what I came up with.
My source of inspiration is actually from the novel “Dracula” where it is outright stated that the source of Dracula’s powers are due to his instruction in the black arts by the Devil.
So here’s the gist of it, each lineage of vampire is a bloodthirsty tyrant from history (Vlad Tepes, Rasputin, Caligula, etc.) who made a deal with the Devil for supernatural power and immortality. The thirst for blood and specific strengths and weaknesses that distinguish each lineage are the result of the specific pact made by the line’s progenitor. These are akin to VtM’s Antediluvians; beings of great power and the founders of their lines who, unlike their descendants, chose their damnation. Others can be infected by the vampire unwillingly, but can be restored by completely rejecting their sins.
Which is the next part of the lore, each of a vampire’s strengths and weaknesses are defined by the seven deadly sins (ex. Wrath has vampiric abilities related to physical prowess and the weakness of a terrible temper, Lust has abilities related to mesmerizing and seducing victims and a weakness of obsession with beautiful mortals, etc.).
In terms of game mechanics, the Sins would be akin to VtMs Disciplines. The stronger their allegiance to a given sin, the greater their ability with its powers and the stronger the weakness becomes). The more that sin is rejected, the weaker the power, but also the lesser the weakness... and if you can reject all of them completely you can even become mortal again.
Which is harder than it sounds. Each progenitor has their own preferred set of sins and chose to turn others most susceptible to those sins, and they are similarly drawn to turn others drawn to those sins. Thus, each lineage tends to have certain traits in common; enough so that one can be identified as belonging to the lineage of House Dracul or Filia Caligula by their particular strengths and weaknesses.
This then is the struggle of the PCs; to embrace, reject or find some semblance of balance with their Hellborn powers and desires even as they struggle with their fellow immortals for power and food and evade the mortal hunters who would destroy them.
As part of this world, I’d define witchcraft/sorcery and lycanthropy as linked to two particular sins since, in general myths, the lines between vampire, witch and werewolf are thin to nonexistent. Similarly, pacts with the Devil imply the existence of evil spirits/demons and, as an easy step, ghosts.
The counter source of power would be rare mortals who embody the Virtues. These are the most dangerous of the vampire hunters.
So there’s your basic setup; vampires, werewolves, witches/sorcerers, ghosts, demons and miracle workers... ancient and powerful progenitors of differing lineages who pursue their agendas in the shadows of the modern* world. A “World of Darkness” without referencing the White Wolf version at all.
* or if you want a little of that Technocrat flavor, set it in the near future with megacorps and advanced military-industrial tech as part of the setting, but instead of being “magic” it’s just so expensive/experimental that only select individuals have access to it and those with access to it aren’t interested in “defining reality” except in the sense of “if we can figure out the science behind immortality we can make a fortune” and “we need to kill these monsters because they pose a threat to our bottom line.”