You know what? I'm reviving this topic because I recently overhauled the DRGN magic and power system.
While I still stand by my original post of giving people a certain power set and having master that one before getting an upgrade, I recently streamlined and simplified the magic and element system thanks to some help from some other world builders on Reddit. that suggested a "Cube" system of sorts where each element exits on an axis of sorts that can be made by adding or taking stuff away.
I have two different sets of elemental magic, but one is a spoiler so I'm just gonna show you guys the basic "Nature" Cube that exists at the start of the series.
Basically, this was how the Axes worked:
Energy:
Plus Energy: Fire
Minus Energy: Ice
Size/Mass:
Plus Size: Water
Minus Size: Dust
Speed:
Plus Speed: Air/Sky
Minus Speed: Earth
And then you could combine neighboring elements to create new ones like combining Fire and Air to create Lightning/Plasma or combing an opposite element like Fire and Ice to create the Null element that can cancel out other elements. I'm still working out the kinks in the system, but I feel that has helped me simplify and streamline things while having a decent amount of depth and strategy allowed as well. Pleas tell me what you guys think of the system as well!
Here's the Nature Cube, by the way. (Kind of a WIP in regards to the elemental symbols, though.)