Ever since I bought one of these for my gaming group, keeping track of initiative has been much less of a chore than it used to be. Thanks to the notes section to the left of the initiative tracker, I've also been able to easily track multiple enemies' hit points.

All in all, if there's one GameMastery product you should buy, it's the Combat Pad. It's an excellent aid for any RPG that has initiative and rounds.

Since adding the combat pad to my 7-player D&D 3.5 game, I have noticed a remarkable increase in organization when it comes to ensuring everyone gets their proper turn in combat. In addition, now that there's a way to track the delaying and readying of actions, the players are making greater use of such tactics.

The only changes I would like would be for the "Combat Pad" header and the "open mind games" footer to cut into the useable area less. With 7 characters in my party, that initiative column could really use the extra 2-inches that would liberate. Similarly, the Notes box could be made taller and wider by extending the work-surfaces closer to the margins.

A sturdier backing would be great so that the pad could be leaned up against a stack of books without flexing too much as You try to move the magnets.

Lastly (and this is a personal preference more than a shortcoming of the product) I would prefer to have permanent sliders running in tracks for the round and turn indicators. Of course, that would be more difficult to manufacture and increase the price so it's not that big of a deal.

Even though there is room for improvement, I still have to give this a 5-star simply because of the sheer positive impact on my game!

I like this product a whole lot. I find it to be a great addition to my DM tools. The only thing that kept it from getting a full 5 Star rating is that the board is a bit flimsy. I had expected something more substantial.

Regardless, it is a great product and one that I recommend highly.

Not a bad product and very innovative, but I had expected a sturdier product for this price. Both the board and the magnets are a little flimsy. Altogether, it is a small improvement over my old system of using sticky-notes.

My biggest problem with the combat pad is that when I wrote on the small magnets with the pens it suggest and then went to re-arrange them, I wiped of the names of the PCs and badguys. I took care of this by putting a piece of clear tape over the magnets, then writing on them. Makes the names un-wipeable by my fumble fingers and I can still re-use them by peeling up the tape.

This is a great tool to have. My group used it in the last game and the DM liked it. There was no question for him as who's turn it was. No need to write down the initiative over and over. Just rearrange when things changed.

This little guy is the best tool I've used playing D&D, next to only the DM screen. Buy it, you'll like it.

I've been looking for a nice quick way of keeping track of combat. Something that with one glance I could easily tell what was up. Programs didn't work all that well since I spent too much time looking at the computer screen instead of paying attention to the game. I usually lost notes scribbled down somewhere during combat. This product makes it easy. Write down pc's, npc's, and monsters on the magnetic strips, place them in initiative order and off you go. If there are a lot of people at the table, which I have, let a pc move the tiles as needed. This is probably the best money I've spent on a supplement in quite some time.

No more trying to track initiative and spell duration with scribbled notes or key-tapping on a laptop. Simple, efficient, and portable.

The Combat Pad shares with the GM Item Cards this incredible quality of being both simple and efficient. The kind of product you use and then think "it's amazing nobody did it before".

The thing's sturdy, the magnets stick to the surface well without being stuck. It erases well. It does what it's set out to do: you track the initiative, can track the HP of various opponents... cool stuff really!