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Scenario: Typical fantasy mud.
Bubba has been trained in combat since he was old enough to hold a sword. His father was a weaponmaster, and Bubba is even better - he's a level 30 warrior who has specialised in swords.
Boffo has lived his (very long) life studying arcane lore in the Great University. He is a level 20 mage who has specialised in scrolls.
Biffo has grown up on a farm, growing turnips. He's not very bright, but he's honest and hardworking, so he gets by. He's a level 2 farmer.
They all become vampires. Do they become level 1 vampires, or retain their previous level? If they all become level 1, then that means Biffo and Boffo are now just as good with swords as Bubba. If they retain their previous level, then Bubba now has greater magical powers than Boffo. The only logical solution is to say that they dual-class, which means that Bubba will no longer advance in his fighting skills as quickly as he did (even though that's the only thing he's interested in) and Boffo will suddenly start getting skilled at combat (even though he has no interest in it).
I agree that in some situations, it can make sense for "vampire" to be a class, but in many situations (such as when there is already a different concept of "class") it doesn't.
So when I turn an elf into a vampire, it's ears become round? When I turn a giant into a vampire, it shrinks? When I turn an orc into a vampire, it's skin changes colour and it's snout turns into a nose?
Or are you saying that only a human should be able to become a vampire?
It can either be a race in it's own right (eg the "truebloods" in Blade), or a disease or parasite which can afflict one or more races.
The whole "biting another player turns them into a vampire" thing has been done many times before, and is available on at least two stock codebases. I've not seen the "over time" idea implemented, but it wouldn't require much extra effort.
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