Game! - Where the stick is mightier than the sword!

I have two fighter characters with nearly identical EXP (4,456 and 4,461) but they have different HP (86 and 90), attack ( (54) 61 and (58) 65) and defense ((32) 44 and (29) 41) while wearing the same equipment (poverty set).

Is this intentional or are some characters "better" than others? If its intentional what is the range of difference?

It's intentional. The level up bonuses for each stat are random within a (small) range.