The old timey version of asking for a cup of sugar
Going Medieval may have been in early access for almost five years, but even after it arrived in 1.0 back in March developer Foxy Voxel have continued to build upon it. The sim's latest update has arrived today, bringing with it a whole bunch of diplomacy. Relations? With other people? Perish the thought! But I suppose sometimes there are some benefits to such a thing.
So, in Going Medieval, you've got 12 NPC factions that are divided up into six faction types. Each of these factions can be interacted with by being friendly or outright attacking them (except for the cannibal faction type, you can't be buds with them). With the new diplomacy system, you are now able to make diplomatic offers by sending a caravan off to another of the NPC settlements which nets you a range of boons depending on how friendly you are with them, the current state of your settlement, and what's in your caravan.
This includes things like the NPC settlement protecting your caravan, the ability to clear one bandit camp instead of sending out your own warriors, some basic resources, defence and offence support, or the acquisition of a rare object. However, you do have to do something in return. That might mean delivering livestock, clearing a bandit camp yourself, fighting alongside the friendly settlement, or lending them one of your own settlers. Worth noting that you can only make one active diplomatic deal at a time, and once it's wrapped up, you can start another.
Non-hostile factions may also now send you an envoy, which "represents the faction coming to you with a specific request already in hand - you can’t choose what is asked of you, but you do choose what they receive in return." Essentially, a little quest to carry out for another settlement. It's also possible to hire folks to carry out certain jobs like farming and tailoring now, or you can pay mercenaries to help you out in your more physical conquests.
The update goes beyond this too, with the addition of faction-specific resources, region market changes, new events, quality of life improvements and bug fixes. You can read about all of that over on Steam.