Newbish question

[thejeff]

Because it's expensive to put in every province. 210 gold for 20pd. Plus the cost and upkeep of any archers you add.

And because if you put that in every province, your enemy will expect it and hit you with things that 20 PD won't even slow down. Horrors, flying/teleporting/sneaking thugs, larger armies and all that investment just vanishes.

PD can be useful. A little bit is necessary stop scout attacks. Decent amounts can back up real forces where you expect to be attacked. Huge amounts can be an unexpected surprise since they can be raised quickly, then buffed by mages.

In the early/middle game PD can be a good defense against the weak raiders most nations can field at that point or the early remote spells (Call of the Winds/Wild, maybe Hordes from Hell), but a cheaply equipped BaneLord can take any reasonable amount of PD, even with archers.

Upkeep is 1/15th the gold cost of the unit, 1/30th for sacreds. Some summons have upkeep, usually because they can also be bought by another nation/era or from a site. Trolls are the most common example.