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As far as 40k goes i have only ever been really into Epic in a big way and the older versions at that so i am not up on more recent troop types.
Is the Heirodule intended to be an equivalent to a Knight or a Warhound Titan?

Hieroduels have been downgrading over the years.

They started out pretty much full titans, slightly smaller, but still a big titan in line with Reavers/warlords and the like.

In 40K they clocked in closer to Knights

Today they've been downgraded to mostly a superheavy -which has actually made them cheaper in points and way more popular to take


Basically over the years the FW model has stayed the same size, but the rest of the game has changed. Whilst its still a fantastically detailed chunk of resin, its now closer to superheavy sizes rather than knight sizes in the game now. Don't forget over the years Tyranids have got a lot bigger than they once were - modern hive tyrants tower over the old models; save for Carnifex as well (and carnifex have gone from one of the biggest to modest in size compared to tervigons and the like).


The Warlord/Warhound equivalent would be the Hiedrophant titan, though I've no idea where its stats leave it in comparison to those titans. I would guess Warhound though based in rough size and price.

The whole size thing has always been fluid- in Epic the Early Greater Daemons and Tyranid big beasts were the size of a 28mm figure but over time shrunk to 15-20mm range only to have the 40K versions bulk up to be inline with the older Epic stuff!
In the current rules what is the Hierodule closer to in killing power?

The Heirophant has substantially diminished in terms of size/power, too. It used to be Warlord equivalent, but the FW model is a fraction of the size now, smaller than a Warhound, I think.

 Insectum7 wrote:
The Heirophant has substantially diminished in terms of size/power, too. It used to be Warlord equivalent, but the FW model is a fraction of the size now, smaller than a Warhound, I think.

I always hated how spindly and weak looking that model was, i think they did that because with their internal pricing a proper version of the Epic one scaled up would be £5k.

Yeah, originally in Epic the heirophant was the battle titan, equivalent to an imperial warlord titan.
While the hierodules were scout titans, equivalent to warhounds.

Then when forgeworld made their 40k scaled versions of the models, they downscaled them. So the hierophant is now a scout titan equivalent, and the hierodules are closer to knights.

To try and reconcile the inconsistency between the two games, the original epic hierophant model that was the size of a warlord was renamed to be a new critter called a 'hydraphant'. While the old epic hierodule models were renamed to hierophants. Although this renaming was only released in an experimental rules PDF for epic before the old specialist games division was canned. So never made it into any books.

I've seen mention of the Hydraphant a few times and wondered what the hell it was supposed to be.

Arson Fire wrote:
Yeah, originally in Epic the heirophant was the battle titan, equivalent to an imperial warlord titan.
While the hierodules were scout titans, equivalent to warhounds.

Then when forgeworld made their 40k scaled versions of the models, they downscaled them. So the hierophant is now a scout titan equivalent, and the hierodules are closer to knights.

To try and reconcile the inconsistency between the two games, the original epic hierophant model that was the size of a warlord was renamed to be a new critter called a 'hydraphant'. While the old epic hierodule models were renamed to hierophants. Although this renaming was only released in an experimental rules PDF for epic before the old specialist games division was canned. So never made it into any books.

I did not know that! Nice one dude!

The original Epic Hierophant was one of my favourites- I wish the FW was the same. I know why it isn't; the Epic Hierophant was beefy- it would use a ton of resin. The current FW model is spindly and thin.

Even thin the Hierophant isn't a well designed model. Many who I've spoken to who own one have had to either go nuts putting metal rods into and through the legs or (more commonly) put a big plastic support right under the main trunk of the body (often hidden with it moving over terrain like trees or a ruin/rubble) so that the legs don't bend and snap under its own weight

The Harridan (winged FW monster) is much more beefy overall and a bit static in its pose, but its at least not collapsing under its own weight (though I suspect the wings need a good number of sizeable pins)

 Overread wrote:
Even thin the Hierophant isn't a well designed model. Many who I've spoken to who own one have had to either go nuts putting metal rods into and through the legs or (more commonly) put a big plastic support right under the main trunk of the body (often hidden with it moving over terrain like trees or a ruin/rubble) so that the legs don't bend and snap under its own weight

The Hieroduel (winged FW monster) is much more beefy overall and a bit static in its pose, but its at least not collapsing under its own weight (though I suspect the wings need a good number of sizeable pins)

Can confirm. Mine has metal rods in the legs and even then I stuck it on a flying stand to keep the model from hurting itself.

I do like the old Epic designs a lot, too. They were more monstrous-horror looking, imo.

Yep I'm honestly a big fan of the hieroduels (got one - want more) but the hierophant I'm not a fan of.

I think my problem is that its got thus huge arching body and a lot of legs, but its actual weapons are nestled on the front arms. It's got no real reason to have such a huge bulky form that its not using to carry such small weapons.

I think in Epic scale it would look fine, if backed up with other beefier titans. At which point it indeed becomes the warhound style scout - light and lithe whilst others become the big meaty beasts that tackle reavers and warlords.
OR you see them en-mass and that's what takes down the warlords - several of them rushing up, clambering over and tearing it apart.



But honestly such things are for Epic or Adepticus Titanicus scale; not really 40K.

If I ever got my Tyranids "finished" and started getting titan Tyranids the Heirophant would probably be the very very last I'd get

You only have to look at a Tarantula compared to a normal house spider to know a real bio titan (assuming it could overcome the breathing problems of being so big) would need to have thicker limbs to support its weight.
The bigger Dinosaurs had massively thickened leg bones....