From the Street Magi's Guide (3)

There is a another means by which you can gain a steady stream of power outside of your own natural store. But the problem with it is that it’s a good way to get yourself killed.

Deals.

Essentially, on it’s face, Deals are very simple. You get in touch with some spirit, You offer service in exchange for power. The more power you want, the more service it takes. Usually there is an agreement and once the agreement is struck...You’re pretty much fucked.  

“Service” can vary from spirit to spirit. In fact, it’s a really good idea to bone up on Contract law if you expect to do this kind of thing and live longer than a month. Lots of spirits will want you go along with nothing more than a chat and a handshake. It’s a good way to get your soul jerked, or your first born child repoed.  (And the less said about what happened to those children the better. Especially when the BEST case scenario is “Light Snack”.)

Spirits are not people. In fact, i’m going to repeat this, because it’s vaguely important.

SPIRITS ARE NOT PEOPLE.

Although some of them can talk a good game, none of them are human. Human experience is foreign to them. They don’t understand or feel emotions in the same way we do. In fact, one could make a case, that spirits are essentially constructed of emotion. But not the sort of emotions that mix well or have any brakes.  

As such, their wants, needs and desires can be a weird and fucking dangerous minefield to be stuck in.  And they all have wants, needs and desires that involve the physical world, because our world is where the bulk of the juice is. 

Some will want you to make a chalk mark on the eastern wall of a specific building every day for two years. Some will want blood, or hair, or semen for nefarious purposes. (“All the better to be CLOSE to you, my dear.”)  Some will want hardened agents to work their will on the planet. Some will want to drive your body like a rental car. (Ghosts and Loa are particularly bad about that shit.)   Some will want to hoover the remains of your soul when you die, and arrange a noisy death for you from the first meeting. 

Deals are only for the desperate. Don’t ever be that desperate.