Diplomat (Unit type)

Diplomats are a kind of agent in Hyrule: Total War.

Acquisition
A diplomat costs 500 rupees and require an embassy to recruit. All factions have diplomats except for the Stalfos, Kingdom of Ikana, River Zora, and Gohma.

Function
The main statistic of diplomats is Influence. Successful diplomatic engagements will give your diplomats more Influence, making subsequent negotiations more likely to succeed. Diplomats can also gain Influence by standing in foreign regions, regions which do not share your religion or without a religion that has a significant majority. Conversely, failed negotiations and staying in relatively religiously homogenous regions can reduce Influence.

The most important factor for diplomacy is your reputation. Bad reputations, like 'Despicable' or 'Dubious', don't expect much success. A good reputation, like 'Very Trustworthy', will make make diplomacy easier. The next most important thing is relations - this is perhaps equally important to reputation, but this varies from faction to faction, while reputation is universal.