Work Text:
1. A gamer system where one cannot unlock major skills till a certain threshold of proficiency is reached in the previous skills.
2. We could also integrate the cultivation concepts of Xianxia novels into this to make it interesting. In addition to the common stats of Strength, Agility, Endurance, Intelligence, Wisdom etc., we could have an additional stat of Will that cannot be increased through stat points as one increases in level.
Instead, the only way to increase Will is through meditation and self-realization. The Will stat would capture the character's ability to manipulate reality and fate through the force of Will.
So basically, it would be an indicator of one's ability to snatch the power to command reality from the Heavens (in a cultivation novel setting), or from Nature. It's the ability to manipulate the energies of the world, not limited to the internal energy in one's body, but any form of energy.
3. Another idea is to display law comprehension as a stat measureable by the system. The deeper one's comprehension, the more capable of manipulating that energy form.
For instance, if character A has higher fire law comprehension but lower strength than character B, character A could still influence the fire spells of character B with lesser energy.
If character A has overwhelmingly higher comprehension than character B in fire laws, all the fire spells of character B would simply by rendered useless when fighting character A. Character A would also suffer negligible loss of internal energy as they can directly seize control over the fire energy of character B instead.