What would you think of a reverse devil’s bargain (angel’s markup?), you get a guarantee that something beneficial will happen but you pay for it with reduced effect or -d.
Because people are more willing to lose dice when they already have decent pools, it will lead to situations that people who are competent fail but still get something out of it. Which would lead to a somewhat different fiction.
If both devil’s bargains and angel’s markups can be applied to the same roll then you could trade something bad happening for something good happening, which seems like it’d add a peculiar kind of certainty.
I can see it. Personally, I don’t think I’m a fan of the idea. This stems mostly from two things:
1) the world is not a friendly place (and since the terminology comes up in both, it bears mentioning that this is especially true of the terrible creatures who were once called gods). Thematically it doesn’t feel right, or equivalent to have characters gaining security from sacrifice in the same way they gain the potential for excellence in a damned bargain.
2) security, combined with reduced effect isn’t interesting. Danger, risk, daring, and the terrible whims of the fates make for engaging, edge of your seat play, with twists that you wouldn’t have predicted.
So this, to me, boils to how I see Devil’s Bargains. Devils bargains aren’t about something bad happening. This isn’t meant to be punitive. They’re about adding something interesting to the story, spice to the mix. It isn’t about kicking the characters or players down, but about providing new and interesting obstacles for them to overcome. New opponents to bring on stage, the tension of a timer (is there an alarm, guards, were they rushed and left a personal and traceable item behind, you start a clock for a related complication, _insert better examples that my tired brain can’t conjure here, etc.?) And for this reason especially, I have trouble seeing the two as equivalent.
Why not call it The Angel’s Share? That’s what they call the amount of whiskey that evaporates during distillation. And I know John Harper​ is fond of whiskey…
Couple thoughts; I wouldn’t use the term “Angel” because it seems like a concept people have probably given up on. Maybe something like “Lady’s Mercy” referencing Lady Luck. Seems more scoundrel-like.
Also, instead of it impacting Action rolls how about making it something applied to Resistance rolls?