I recently listened to the Calculus of Battle audio drama, written by David Guymer for the Warhammer 40,000 Black Library. It's a short production at just a little over 20 minutes, but it's a proper audio drama, like a radio play. This review contains minor spoilers.
This story is about the Iron Hands space marine chapter, which is the chapter I build and play. Not coincidentally, it's the marine chapter that's closely aligned with the Adeptus Mechanicus (my primary army.) As space marine chapters go, they're not often featured in media or even model kits and codexes. They're seen by many other chapters as a cold and calculated organisation. They choose battles based on probability of success, they weigh cost against projected losses, and they'll abandon a fight the moment it ceases to be a logical activity by their estimation. They endure great pain in battle, and that motivates them to press on, but they never lose themselves to the frenzy of war. They're the uncomfortably dispassionate counterpart to the Blood Angels. As a nerd, there's a lot there that resonates with me, so they're my adopted space marine faction.
The story of Calculus of Battle takes place on a planet called Varasine, which is being decimated by Tyranids. The Astra Militarum is doing what it can, but they've called out for help, and so the Iron Hands arrive to join the war.
Kardan Stronos has studied the Tyranids and is up to the challenge. The question is, how far is he willing to go? Will the logic and ruthless strategizing the Iron Hands are known for take precedence over the value of human lives? Or will Stronos place the lives of mortals above the cost of waging war? I won't spoil what wins out.
The story of Calculus of Battle is good, but I admit it's unremarkable. I've definitely read in books, or watched on Warhammer+, this story concept before. Space marines kill Tyranids, but not before Tyranids kill some space marines, and one way or another the battle (or the story, more likely) ends. But Warhammer 40,000 being a genre all its own isn't necessarily a bad thing. Calculus of Battle is exactly what I'd signed up for when I bought the audio drama. It's exactly what I wanted to hear, and it's a story I've listened to while painting both Tyranids and Iron Hands. This is one aspect of my gaming tabletop, in audio drama form.
It's also admittedly mildly humourous to consider the difference between battles in books and on the tabletop. I can't help but notice in this story that we hear a lot about a single space marine being menaced by a single Tyranid, and overcoming it with a heroic display of a combination of strength and will.
First of all, any tabletop gamer will tell you that it's almost literally impossible (and unwise) for a single Tyranid and a single space marine to face off, because Warhammer 40,000 is played mostly in army units. If one of my space marine character models could go up against a single Termigant, I don't think Termigants would be all that scary. But you never only get attacked by a single Termigant, unless you're a character in a book.
Secondly, will isn't a stat in Warhammer 40,000, and if you're only 4 Strength then almost no combination of Strength and Will is going to take out an enemy with 9 Toughness. Maybe Kardan Stronos has an Enhancement that lets him attack with a Leadership roll?
Joking aside, the audio drama is fun and evocative of what you believe is happening on the tabletop when you roll really well, and sometimes even when you roll poorly. There are moments of unlikely success, and moments of failure in Calculus of Battle, and if you're a fan of Warhammer 40,000 who wants to hear about tabletop moments in drama form, then this is good purchase. If you're an Iron Hands player, it's a no-brainer.
All images in this post copyright Games Workshop.