[AlexanderHowl]

In folklore, BM is usually superior to normal magic. If it was equivalent or inferior, the thinking is why would anyone except for a fool deal with it (in traditions where all magic is forbidden, practitioners of BM tend to be ludicrously powerful and yet vulnerable to rather simple things). Practitioners of BM in folklore though are usually quite powerful and are only defeated by the chosen one(s).

For example, in my modern horror settings that I mentioned above, the Spiritual Assitance Pact Perk allows practitioners to purchase a Magery up to one-half of their Occultism (rounded down) and grants them a spiritual assistance threshold equal to twice their Occultism that automatically empties every dusk. Each patron also grants one unique method through which their servants may empty their spiritual assistance threshold. Thus Spiritual Assistance potentially grants practitioners vast amounts of magical power with minimal effort (practitioners still suffer spiritual distortion as normal, though their descent is moderated because the amount that they can borrow is limited by their spiritual assistance threshold).

Corruption (which is accessed through the Corrupted Soul Perk) allows practitioners to purchase Magery up to one-half their Meditation (rounded down) and grants them a corruption threshold equal to twice their Meditation that automatically empties every dusk. Every person has a personal sin that they may indulge them that empties their corruption threshold. Like spiritual assistance, corruption potentially grants great power (practitioners still suffer corruption as normal, though their descent is moderated because the amount that they can borrow is limited by their corruption threshold).