GameMastery Combat Pad

[Saint Mac]

Hi All,

Quick question. As I was reading the Pathfinder GameMastery Guide (as I'm brand new to it), I ran across the mention of the GameMastery Combat Pad. Looking at the website, I thought it looked pretty cool. Personally, I use cards or use a wet erase on my mat, but hey, whatever helps!

So question is, do you use one and , if so, do you like it?

Thanks!

 

[Steel_Wind]

I have one and I used it for a few years and liked it. I now tend to use the surface of my Mondomat itself (it's REALLY big and I have tons of "extra room" on it to scribble on. I just wipe that off as I go between combats with wet-erase overhead pens. I did the same thing by writing on the surface of the plastic tablecloth at Gencon, for that matter.

If you go that route, obtain for yourself a very unlikely but extremely useful bit of gaming gear: unscented baby wipes. The smaller box "Pull-ups" brand baby wipes are IDEAL for this task at the gaming table. They are absorbent, pre-moistened with precisely the right amount of fluid to wipe clean without ink running hither and yon over the mat, They are also very tough disposable cloths, too. You won't need to use more than one per "clean-up". No spraying water to get books spritzed accidentally or to screw up some aspect of your map you don't want changed, either.

Disney themed boxes of toddler potty-training wipes as essential gaming gear. Who knew?

 

[Saint Mac]

Thanks for the info. Who would have thought of all these years being a dad, and I didn't make the connection between baby-wipes and my table map. Wasted years I tell ya! lol

Actually, its an awesome idea. All those poor trees I've killed in the name of "clean".

Thanks again, I'll pass the idea on to my buds.

PS> loved the Kingmaker segment!

 

[UHF]

I have one that I use for 4e. I find it very very handy to track initiative, damage and effects. (And we get that up the wazoo in 4e.)

Baby wipes... I'll have to give that a try. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Jacob Marley]

Own it. Use it. Love it. We have head one now for a couple of years, and it has held up very well.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

My Combat Pad is so old it predates Paizo buying it from Open Mind Games.

I ordered magnetic strips in various colors, so (1) PCs, bad guys, NPCs, spells, and "events" are more distinguishable in the init order, and (2) I could write on them with permanent marker. (So I have "Bad Guy 1" through "4," common spells like "Bless" and "Haste," effects like "Bard Song," and so on.) It's a fantastic product, made even better when you don't have to worry about smudging everything when you're shuffling stuff around in the order.

 

[thalmin]

I haven't tried this yet on the new Combat Pad, just my year-old model, but I have used permanent markers on the magnets for PCs. It comes off with rubbing alcohol or tracing with a dry erase, then wiping it all off. Same goes for the flip-mats. Don't try this with a Chessex Battle-mat!

 

[Anguish]

I play with a couple different groups. In my smaller (3 people) groups we don't need or use this. In my larger (7 people) group things get chaotic at the table and I bought one specifically so initiative could be displayed where the players could see it. I was tired of nobody tracking initiative and being totally unprepared when their PC's turn came around. Now the chatting continues but people wake up when they're next and start thinking, before their turn.

For the price it's a good choice... if you need it. We don't do anything else with it. I've got a bunch of Alea Tools magnetic markers for spells and whatnot. Blessed? Fine, here, have a little blue thing. Flying? Here, have a white thing. And so on.

Six PCs, one DMPC (don't ask), and two animal companions. Ugh.

 

[Saint Mac]

Getting the feeling that this is ideal for large groups or heavy fighting, but not so much on the small groups.

Hey, as long as it keeps me from ruin another side of a Chessex map because I wasn't paying attention, it might be picking it up! lol

 

[Skeld]

I've used mine for over 3 years now and it's still going. This is my second campaign using it (D&D3.5 Savage Tide & SW Saga Dawn of Defiance) and I love it. Like Thalmin, I've learned it's easiest to write PC names on the magnets with a sharpie so that I don't keep accidentally rubbing them off (the names, not the characters). When it's time for a new campaign, I clean the PC names off with some rubbing alcohol (although marking over them with a dry erase marker then cleaning it off as normal removes sharpie also) to prepare for the next round of victims.

I think it's handy even if you don't have a large group.

-Skeld