So I just watched all of the Indiana Jones films again recently. Great fun as always, and I even appreciated the 4th one better the second time (still my least favorite, though). And of course I couldn't help but think of Monterey Jack and how he's always seemed to be disappointing as a character, at least when you have the expectation that he's supposed to be Indiana Jones. So here's my take on an update. If nothing else, I think adding the "I'll Think of Something" ability would be a great addition. That's one of his main catch phrases throughout the films and one of his best traits; he often gets out of perilous situations with some quick thinking and clever ideas.

Other changes... I removed his two starting Unique Items and reduced his starting money from $7 to $6. So yes, he still has enough to shop for a Unique Item, but he won't have 3 after the first turn. He can obtain them easier now with his Fortune and Glory ability (updated from Archaeology). He also starts at the Train Station... I don't picture Indiana Jones living in Arkham but traveling there to look for some archaeological artifacts in the midst of the Ancient One's arrival. I switched his Lore and Luck around to 5 and 4. Yes, he is incredibly lucky, but a lot of his survival is due to his quick thinking ("I'll Think of Something") and I think he excels more at Lore. And I bumped his Will up from 3 to 4. He's nothing if not brave.

I also felt he should have an Ally, as that is usually the case (e.g. Short Round, Sallah). I might make a specific Ally for Sallah or Short Round and just give him that. All told, he is probably stronger than his previous incarnation, even without the 2 Unique Items, but not too much so, and more importantly, he's more interesting.

I wish this were the official Monterey Jack. It never struck me as appropriate that the Indiana Jones knock off would only have 3 sanity and 3 will. Way too hard to go exploring with that in this game ;')

Avi_dreader said:

Yeah, I was on the fence about changing his Sanity/Stamina to 4/6, but thematically Indy's Stamina is more extraordinary as depicted, and I figured the bump on his Will would help a little with his lower Sanity. Also, if I create a specific Ally for him (e.g. Sallah), I'll probably have the Ally provide some kind of Horror, Will and/or Sanity boost.

I just realized that I need to rename "Fortune and Glory" back to "Archaeology" to keep in line with his PS.

Am I the only one who gets urges to make a Rescue Ranger expansion every time I see Monty?

Nice job on this rewrite by the way, I like it.

Veet said:

::Snicker:: I hope ;'D

Definitely an improvement over the original. I suspect that "I'll think of something" would play a lot like Ursula's Adventurer ability (after reading her Arkham encounter, but before making any die rolls, Ursula may spend 1 Clue token to cancel the encounter entirely).

Someone on BGG is suggesting that his "I'll Think of Something" should be limited to encounters... As it's written, it would include combat as well. My feeling is that the ability isn't as strong as it may seem, as every character can avoid the negative penalty of any skill check by spending a Clue token... if they roll a success. In his case, that just guarantees that the first Clue will be a success (which it might have been, anyway). And in this case, it doesn't mean that he passes the check... He still fails and in the case of combat would have to flee or fight another round. He just doesn't take the damage. Whereas someone else spending a Clue token after a failed combat check and rolling a success will not only avoid the damage but also will have passed... thus defeating the monster.

I'm inclined to keep it as it is, but I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Here's an alternative with a few minor distinctions, with the actual Indy character...

Grudunza said:

Don't forget that some skill checks (especially combat-related ones) have a difficulty greater than one (i.e., require more than one success). Consider requiring a number of Clue tokens equal to the difficulty of the check.

Cheers,
Chris