Individual

Character's full name: Reginald Phillip Black
Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: Dr. Black, Lord Reginald Black
Gender: Male
Age: 67
Date of Birth: (11/21/1943)
Nationality/ Ethnicity: English by blood, American by habit.
Birthplace/ Home/ Place of origin: Born in London, raised in Arkham, Massachusetts.

Appearance

Hair color and style: Oily black, balding, and worn long about his neck and shoulders.
Eyes: Icy blue.
Height: 5'6"
Build: Delicate bone structure amply padded in fat. Rather resembles an emperor penguin, actually.
Visible mutation: Reginald's fingers end in slender, bony claws with black cuticles, and sharp fangs reside in his slimy black mouth, even when he is otherwise fully human.
Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: None to speak of.
Other features: Long, sharply pointed nose.

Everyday clothing style: Slightly anachronistic and excessively formal. Reginald wears a long black tailcoat over a white dress shirt, black slacks, a black silk vest, and thick black riding boots.
Uniform: None.
Sleepwear: Lord Black sleeps in his "true" form, an amorphous mass of slithering tentacles.
Miscellaneous clothing: A top hat, a silver rimmed monocle, a pair of black leather riding gloves to hide his claws, and a cane with a rapier blade concealed in the shaft.

Character

Personality: An aristocrat at heart, Dr. Black is aloof and coldly intellectual. He is most comfortable in the company of ancient stories and long dead philosophers, and tends to regard the living with disdain. Reginald voices his displeasure with humanity through silence or venomous cynicism, but he is perfectly willing wax eloquent over scholarly matters when consulted. As much as he despises his fellow humans, he considers himself a connoisseur of humankind, and is only too pleased to share his knowledge. To be honest, he finds humanity as fascinating as it is disgusting. Reginald bears a certain respect for fellow experts in human nature, be they scholars like himself or devious manipulators. However, he holds the most sympathy for those who are isolated or alone. He tells himself that they too know how little the rest of humanity means, but in truth loners and outcasts remind him of himself.
Hobbies/ Interests: Books, especially Nietzsche. Wine, Pinot Noir in particular. Music, favoring Mussorgsky and, strangely enough, Heavy Metal. Museums, of which most any variety will do, although natural history museums are probably his favorite.
Job or part time job and description: Former professor of Philosophy at Miskatonic University, Arkham, now retired and living off of his family holdings.
Fears/ phobias/ concerns: Occasionally Lord Black wonders if, just possibly, he missed something along the way, and perhaps there's something terribly wrong with his life. This is only made worse by the conclusion that it's too late for him to do anything about whatever that might be.
Special talents:

Morality

Bad: Having left conventional morality behind, Reginald does not recognize any ethical authority higher than one's own self. Though he can be civil, courteous, and perhaps even sincerely caring, he would still be considered frighteningly amoral by most sane human standards.

Mutations

Tentacle Form: Lord Black's true form is a writhing colony of slick black tentacles with no discernible anatomy, each tendril bearing a slender claw of bone on its end. Though his silhouette is often vaguely humanoid, Reginald can arrange his tendrils however he see fit, a serpentine tangle and an amorphous mass being among his other favored configurations. Each tentacle is usually between four and six feet long, and at his most extended Reginald can reach a total length of around eighteen feet, though in that state he would only be about six inches thick. Reginald can assume human form at will, leaving only his nails and teeth to suggest his inhuman nature. He is also capable of shifting particular limbs into tentacles while leaving others in human form, potentially turning individual fingers into tentacles or leaving his skeleton in place while his tentacles coil around it in a mockery of human flesh. When he is without eyes, Reginald senses the world primarily though touch, hearing, and differences in temperature, all of which are sensitive enough to give him roughly human perception of his immediate surroundings.
Strengths: Reginald's tentacles are powerful and flexible, allowing him to slither through otherwise claustrophobic quarters and subdue victims in his coils by lashing out with a few fingers. Each tentacle has dexterity and strength comparable to that of cephalopods, meaning that anything from turning a page to breaking bones is comfortably within their potential. Because he is used to feeling, listening, and occasionally smelling his way through the world without the conveniences of eyesight, Reginald is more at home in the dark than most humans. Without any vital organs, there isn't any particularly easy way to kill Reginald short of feeding him through a meat grinder.
Weaknesses: A tangle of black tentacles isn't exactly suited to human interaction or speech, and holding a conversation with someone displaying even one such limb can be awkward to say the least. His clothing doesn't shift with him, but this is usually only a minor inconvenience, as he just slithers back into his apparel before returning to human form. Reginald's mass is consistent between his forms, so he is loosely the same total size in any form. Injuries are consistent as well. While cuts and bruises still manifest themselves one way or another in any form, the most serious injuries result in a loss of mass. When Reginald becomes human, lost mass usually comes out of his fat, but eventually he could have to leave limbs off in order to keep his more vital structures intact. The results can be... unpleasant. Since he heals at a rate comparable to normal humans, it can take months or years to restore grievous losses. As his tentacle form is, strictly speaking, his natural one, he reverts to it when asleep, unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated.

Fighting Style

Explanation: As an accomplished fencer, Reginald wields his sword cane with vicious precision. Failing that, he throttles and crushes opponents in the coils of his tentacles.
Pros for fighting style: Quick, deadly strikes and delicate control of his weapon. Being enveloped by a slithering mass of tentacles is not a pleasant experience either.
Cons for fighting style: A rapier is unwieldy at extreme close quarters, and fencing's focus on single combat leaves Reginald vulnerable against multiple opponents. Also, coordinating dozens of limbs can be... messy. The tentacles have minds of their own, so to speak, and aren't known for making rational decisions under stress. They tend to be a little too bloodthirsty for their own good.

Faction Allegiance
Unaffiliated

History Of Your Character
Reginald's childhood was, let us say, sheltered. His parents, Lord Phillip Black and Lady Penelope Black, never entirely trusted the society they fled to after living through a second world war, and did their best to keep their son away from it. Reginald didn't mind, in part because he knew no better, but also because he was never entirely comfortable with human contact. Apart from his devotedly distant parents, the only people he really knew were his teachers, scholars engaged by his parents to shape him into the next Lord Black. Having never felt entirely human, Reginald's transition from walking the halls of the family home to slithering down those same corridors was remarkably smooth. Mother and Father were less understanding. His few playmates from Arkham's more "noble" families stopped coming to call. That was all right, though. In time, Nietzsche, Orwell, et alia would provide far better conversation. By the time his teachers left him as well, the young Lord Black had decided that he didn't the rest of humankind much in any case. Reginald's opinion of humanity came largely from the works of Nietzsche, and college did little to contradict this view. His years at Miskatonic University did, however, teach him patience and subtlety. After long years of study and a dissertation analyzing the inherently subjective nature of morality, Dr. Black joined the prestigious faculty of the Miskatonic institute as a professor of philosophy. He then proceeded to spend decades developing his personal definition of moral conduct, which in the end was not particularly similar to any traditional notion of good and evil. Unfortunately, just as Dr. Black was settling into retirement, the government suddenly decided that humanity needed protection from its more "dangerous" members. The whole business of registration would be unspeakably vulgar, so it seemed like the perfect time to embark upon a grand tour of Europe. Taking up the mantle of Lord Black, Reginald departed for Moscow and made a leisurely journey back across the continent. It's possible that he went off the deep end somewhere in the vicinity of Prague, but seldom have others noticed that Reginald's outlook is as inhuman as his true appearance. Sadly, the delights of Bucharest, Munich, and London could not last forever. After a very long holiday, Lord Reginald Black has returned to the city where his parents first set foot in America. Welcome to New York, my lord.

Roleplay
Where did you learn about this site?: From Kaitlyn's player, a compatriot of mine.
Do you have any other characters on MRO, if so who: No.
Sample RP:
The river Miskatonic reminded Dr. Black of humanity. It was deep, dark, murky, and all the more intriguing because of it. He could never figure out what the ducks meant, though. Whatever he came up with, the ducks just kept on paddling about and making duckish noises. Leaning off the bridge and over the dreary water for a moment, Reginald scattered some bread for the waterfowl below. Those who partook quacked in what might have been an appreciative sort of way.

Seeing no one who might interrupt his solitude, Reginald let his fingers slide out into long, black tendrils and let them float in the river's current. The ducks politely ignored Dr. Black's digits, but even so it was not long before Reginald was disturbed.

"I'm afraid we don't have much time left, sir." Said Dr. Black's butler, the only remaining member of the Black household older than Reginald himself. "Your flight to Moscow leaves in just a few hours. It really wouldn't do to be late on this occasion."

Reginald found the strict schedules of human institutions so insufferably uncivilized. However, that was primarily because he didn't get to set them himself. Sadly, his butler did have a point. "Norris, would you really attempt to deny me my last farewells to this place?"

The butler checked his pocket watch. "Perhaps not, sir. After all, it was for similar reasons that I insisted on coming with you this morning."

"Then you're a sentimental old fool, Norris."

"Indeed, sir, and so are you." Norris pointed at the ducks as they swam contentedly around Reginald's tentacles.

Dr. Black indulged himself with a slight chuckle. "I suppose so, but only in my own peculiar way. Well, let's be off. Russia isn't going to wait forever."

"Of course, sir."

I love that he worked at Miskatonic University <3 Lori gets anxious around tentacles so if you want to keep them, keep 'em in plain sight, buck-o.

Oh yeah and welcome aboard!

Finally, you're here! Welcome to MRO!

"Reginald's opinion of humanity came largely from the works of Nietzsche" -- This line still makes me grin.

Heehee, tentacles. I feel like if you're not horribly scary, Calley!cat would go tentacle diving. And if you are, Rex still would.

Welcome to MRO. <3

Awesome character. Welcome to MRO.

Interesting character and cool power! Welcome Aboard!

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I was wondering if anyone would notice the Lovecraft references. I'm hoping Lori and Reginald will get along, despite the tentacles, but we'll see about that. Also, something tells me that Reginald would not approve of tentacle-diving. That said, it could still be a very amusing experience.

Welcome, Dr. Black. Have cookies. And now behave. Granny is watching you.

o.o Woah! Mister Creepy crawly!

If you're still around, we should totally thread!

Roach would love this guy.

Would you like a sig and avi? I was thinking Severus Snape might be appropriate.

if you like the idea, I've made a pair, you can find them Here, in the last post

Thank you, Aedus, I would love it if you were put a face to the good doctor. The ones you've made will do nicely. I tend to think of him as similar to the Penguin from Batman Returns, but Snape would also do quite well. If you had any interest in doing another, I have a quote in mind as well, if you like. "Verily, men gave themselves all their good and evil." -Nietzsche

Once again, many thanks for the offer.

Certainly, and it has been awhile since I have thought about the penguin. I'll see what I can come up with.

Much obliged!

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Brilliant! Thank you so much, Mr. Aedus. You are a gentlemutant and a scholar.