[Absalon]

Some of what you suggest already exists on gear, and more is coming. For example, the gloves you get from the newbie quest line give 1 point in a particular expression type at the beginning of the parley. Most races will have gloves that compliment their cards. For example, a demand race like Dwarves will get Inspiring Gloves, which give +1 inspire at the beginning of the parley. When combined with their evaluation that gives them 2 demand and 1 inspire, that can be a useful combination.

There are consumable items available from Tier 1 and 2 information turn ins. These items give +1 point to one or two expression types to begin the parley. They are 1 use items, so are best used for difficult quest parleys, rather than for grinding civics.

Some crafting recipes were recently added to the game. These recipes drop from entertain parleys and are used to create some tier 2 diplo clothing. The recipes all use prestigious baubles in the crafting. The artificer and blacksmith gear all provide nice presence values, while the outfitter gear has lower presence values, but provides a bonus in certain conversation types. For example, one piece of gear gives +1 parley status at the beginning of gossip parleys. That means the marker begins at +1 on your side of the board.

And at some time in the near future, diplomats will be able to construct and upgrade diplomacy masks. These masks are "built" using gems from turning in facets (NPCs not in yet) from doing writs. The gems have different properties, such as giving +1 expression to start a parley. I think each mask can hold up to 3 gems. There were some other bonus types mentioned, but I can't get to vgtact atm to see what they are.