The problem of low hit points on humans

[HoneyBadger]

Also, Agrajag, I think PD is something along the lines of National Guard/Standing Militia. I doubt too many midieval burgs successfully employed the fat and lazy, primarily because the fat were almost 100% necessarily wealthy and would at best have served as commanders. Not many of those would have been lazy if they were successful, laziness would have been a trait of some of the landed nobility and the clergy, if anyone. Real PD would be English Longbowmen with arms literally deformed by the musculature necessary to use their bows, or tough freemen (of which their were few, and the ones serving as town guards would have been specialized to the task, alert and energetic (because the alternative is being impaled by sneaky Mongols while they sell your children) and in good physical shape). The ones with the wide, low range of hp. would have been levees. Others with wide ranges would be dynastic warriors where soldiers serve as a duty for generations in the same family, as landed knights etc. Hp. ranges would depend a lot more on honor, rights, duties, and that kind of thing, in a feudal society than they would one's "place" in society, because either you're poor and weak and diseased, and probably won't survive without being rich or atleast gifted with noble/religious rank and/or an education, or you're tough enough to overcome the conditions of midieval society, which weren't very good for anyone. Now, it's true that the levees would be used for PD, but after you buy the first 20, you're dealing with a healthier class of people, because you're dishing out major loot, and only a complete idiot is going to spend that kind of gold on feeding fat lazy peasants who could be working their fat off in the fields. Don't forget, you're talking societies of fanatical people who are willing to kill, die, and sacrifice by way of flaying 10 year old virgin girls, in the name of their god. They're not gonna let potential fieldhands just stand around holding a spear, especially when the national welfare program is a visit by your local necromancer.

[Agrajag]

HoneyBadger said:
Also, Agrajag, I think PD is something along the lines of National Guard/Standing Militia. I doubt too many midieval burgs successfully employed the fat and lazy, primarily because the fat were almost 100% necessarily wealthy and would at best have served as commanders. Not many of those would have been lazy if they were successful, laziness would have been a trait of some of the landed nobility and the clergy, if anyone. Real PD would be English Longbowmen with arms literally deformed by the musculature necessary to use their bows, or tough freemen (of which their were few, and the ones serving as town guards would have been specialized to the task, alert and energetic (because the alternative is being impaled by sneaky Mongols while they sell your children) and in good physical shape). The ones with the wide, low range of hp. would have been levees. Others with wide ranges would be dynastic warriors where soldiers serve as a duty for generations in the same family, as landed knights etc. Hp. ranges would depend a lot more on honor, rights, duties, and that kind of thing, in a feudal society than they would one's "place" in society, because either you're poor and weak and diseased, and probably won't survive without being rich or atleast gifted with noble/religious rank and/or an education, or you're tough enough to overcome the conditions of midieval society, which weren't very good for anyone. Now, it's true that the levees would be used for PD, but after you buy the first 20, you're dealing with a healthier class of people, because you're dishing out major loot, and only a complete idiot is going to spend that kind of gold on feeding fat lazy peasants who could be working their fat off in the fields. Don't forget, you're talking societies of fanatical people who are willing to kill, die, and sacrifice by way of flaying 10 year old virgin girls, in the name of their god. They're not gonna let potential fieldhands just stand around holding a spear, especially when the national welfare program is a visit by your local necromancer.

Well, this being a purely thematic discussion, I'll just say that my image of PD is just the kind of guys that are paid to sit on their arses all day long, looking out of their tower for potential threats. But mostly just sitting on their arses since they never actually get to fight anything.
Furthermore, they eat all the standard military issued food (known to be very nutritious), and supplement it with some ale/beer and roast at the local inn.
So yeah, they are fat and lazy, probably dumb as well. (else, why would they be in the Provincial Defence and not the actual military?)
I'm currently reading a book that employs a mildly appropriate description of such men: "Barracks Rats"