I know, I'm making another thread (screw that guy!).
I've been getting into DW:U lately and was wondering if there's something similar, but maybe in a fantasy/medieval setting instead.
Mount & Blade seems like the best candidate that I can think of at the moment... It has fighting, factions, progression over time, and so on.
SURELY there's more real-time 4x type games that are right under my nose, and my unclear head won't let me find them!
If there's not, I'll be pretty disappointed... possibly angry too.

Oh, I just thought of another one - The Guild! But that's about it.

Dwarf Fortress, if you can stomach the interface and graphics. Majesty Gold might also work.

Is there any kind of diplomacy in those? I do have majesty, but I thought it was basically 'generate a map; train men; kill all enemies; end of map'.

How about Victoria in Paradox?
It is a grand strategy in the 19 century. not medieval though.
The concept of POPs is similar to peoples in Distant Worlds. They can not control directly.
There are 2 games. Victoria 1 is here in GOG. I prefer the first one to the second.

I never thought to give those sort of grand strategies a look. Thanks for the suggestion!

No diplomacy for Majesty, from what I recall. You don't directly train your heroes - rather, it your job to set up bounties and shops for those who might work for you. The heroes have no obligations to your leadership, rather acting according to their characteristics. EG: Thieves love loot, but hate danger, while wizards are fond of staying in bastions of knowledge. You need to dole out your gold carefully, while considering what kind of heroes are best suited to inhabit the kingdom.

Dwarf Fortress is a perpetual work in progress, so it might have had diplomacy added during my absence. Still, you will have your hands full dealing with problems closer to home. EG: Killer clown demons from underground, industrial accidents involving magma, insanity amongst the dwarves, or the dangers of extreme deforestation.

Would you recommend Distant Worlds: Universe in general? The price kind of kills the mood for me but it looks interesting.

Without a second thought, I'd recommend it.

I have that in my library but have not played it yet, guess I'll put it on my short list :)

Age of Wonders 3 perhaps?

You can convert cities you're tired of ruling into vassals if you want them to manage their own defense. The Keepers of the Peace are focused on expanding through diplomacy rather than war. There is even a diplomatic victory condition (Unifier Victory).

[EDIT] You need Eternal Lords for this though.

I do enjoy that one frequently.
I'm just trying to find more games in that vein that are real-time.

Anno looks to fit nicely, but I'm wondering how complicated it is.

The anno series is not overly complicated (I can only speak of the series up to 1404). Combat is not a main focus of the game (there is some and you can try to take over cities by military force if you really wanted to), it's more about managing your cities and their needs. So lots of micromanaging and trading going on.

It gets more complex as the game progresses, with more advanced production chains and the needs of your population. I've played all Anno games except the most recent one (Anno 2205) and 1404 is clearly the best. It just has so much content and many possibilities.
In 1404 you have regular population and also oriental population with completely different needs and products and to get all of them happy is quite a challenge. You won't even notice how fast time passes. 2070 expands this with a futuristic setting and underwater production chains (with the DLC) but...it's still tied to UPlay and you won't miss too much if you already have 1404.

Sorry to dive in but yep, absolutely; gave it a go sometime ago and it's amongst Slitherine's top gems.