Starfinder Combat Pad [RPG]

The Starfinder Combat Pad is a handy way to keep track of initiative, round-by-round effects, character conditions, and more.  The basic concept is that the product is a double-sided pad that can be written on with a wet or dry erase marker.  There are then two sheets of little magnets, each of which can also be written on, that can then be arranged and re-arranged to indicate what round it is, whose turn it is to go, etc.  The package comes with the pad and then two sheets of magnets, divided by colour for PCs, enemies, and NPCs, with additional arrow magnets to indicate what round it is.

The main side of the pad, used for traditional tactical combat, will be very familiar to anyone who has used the Pathfinder Combat Pad.  As the picture indicates, there’s a place to keep track of each character’s initiative and what round it is, but also a lot of room for miscellaneous notes—something that is quite handy.  I’ve used this side of the pad in about a dozen Starfinder Society sessions and I’ve found it works well in organizing and keeping track of things.  My only complaint would be that the magnets aren’t *quite* as magnetic as I would like, and they sometimes get shifted around or even fall off if the pad is bumped or held vertically.

The other side of the pad is designed for starship combat.  This side is less useful because there’s not really character initiative in Starfinder starship combat, as everyone just acts (in any order) in the phase corresponding to the role their PC has taken on the ship.  The pad could be used to track who is in what role, but even then it doesn’t detail whose on sensors vs. who's piloting in the Helm phase, for example.  The space for notes is probably more useful as a GM could keep track of what systems on an NPC ship are damaged, etc., but a sheet with more information that is better laid out (perhaps with tick boxes or shield arcs, etc.) would be better.  I don’t really use this side of the pad during encounters.

Overall, I’d rate the Starfinder Combat Pad as a decent buy that’s useful for GMs who haven’t already made custom means to keep track of the information they need during encounters.  One side of the pad is definitely more useful than the other, but it’s always handy to have room for notes.  Oddly, the product comes with way more magnets than is necessary, and I’m not really sure what the intent is there.  It’s not a product that’s as great as it could be, but it’s okay for what it is.