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.
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