A discovery of the POP system came through repetition: first, I faced the vampire and died to him. Then, I realized that Bread was the game’s "potion," and it replenished the POP. That's when I understood that this was the key inversion. Maybe you could divide it into lethal and non-lethal weapons: the non-lethal would aim at the POP, while the lethal would aim at life. The difference between them would be that the lethal one takes life but doesn’t allow item collection, while the non-lethal, although harder, would let you collect the items. It’s a basic concept, but it would give a lot of verticality to the system.
La Boétie’s book really resonates with these ideas, and I admit that thinking about the relationship between sadism and masochism was a big leap — but your game (and maybe you, as an individual :P) enjoys these leaps. It makes sense when we think that, in the reward mechanism of both, the perception of pain and power acts as a driver for the final satisfaction.
+And I gladly accept your hug! :D So much so that I'm going to show you a classic song about sending someone a big hug.