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Is it possible to limit a number of skills that you have(represented by variables set to 1 or 0, for has or doesn't have a skill). Say you start a storygame, and are asked to pick between 8 skills(for simplicities sake, called skill 1, skill 2, etc). You can only pick three skills in the beginning.

Later in the game, you can get new skills, BUT you can only have four skills total. Is there any way, preferably without scripting, but it sounds out of the question, to make sure that you can't have a new skill if you already have four? This includes any combination of the four, for example, skills 1, 5, 6, and 8.

Alternatively, could I use items as spells, and make sure you only have four spells, but not just four items(you would have more items than just spells).

 

This idea sounds rather complicated. I was just wondering if it was possible.

If I understand what you mean I imagine you could try something like having another variable, say LIMIT, and on the page where the player picks their skills have a choice available for each skill, plus one for continuing.

Each time they pick a skill link they get +1 to that skill, and they can't select that link again (either 1 time use or restricted to having that specific skill = 0).
Also each time they pick one of the skill gaining links have +1 to LIMIT. Then you can set the continue link to requiring LIMIT = 3, and also add to all skill links the restriction LIMIT < 3 (or LIMIT NOT = 3).

For later in the story, just have the skill gaining links also have +1 to LIMIT and have them restricted to LIMIT < 4 instead.
However this might not work depending on how they gain the later skills, you don't want dead ends, but something like this should still be doable, I imagine.

To gain new skill later you just swap for the ones you already have. But then, you could always have a page allowing you to drop one or more of your skills, then another page that adds them.

Could this also work with items?

If you are having the same skill getting better I imagine you could just give the option to increase it by +1 with a restriction for that skill already being 1. This would require you to remove the upper limit on the variable
Again, watch out for dead ends if you implement this, in general always watch for them whenever restrictions are involved.

As for items, I don't know too much about them, and as you aren't using scripting I imagine they could be a bit of a pain. I'm gonna assume ITEMSTATE isn't gonna be used (is that scripting?) so all you really have as options is: HAVE and NOT HAVE (and if you let them, the reader can drop it whenever they want to get the NOT HAVE option). So basically 0's and 1's. Not sure how restriction setting works with items, haven't looked and don't have much time now, but if it is the same/similar enough to variables I don't see why it wouldn't work with them as well.

Do be careful not to let things spiral out of control, you can do sooo much, even without scripting / html.

You could try making a storygame just to test the interactions between links and restrictions. It is a bit bothersome but can prove very useful, specially if they are a big part of the storygame.

Do note that with items you will be stuck with just "0's and 1's", so the top part of this post won't work with them (for say, upgrading items). However I imagine there is a way to get the same result, just with different actions.

TL;DR
I imagine my previous post should work with items.

If you force the reader to select three skills in the beginning, you can easily allow them to select just one more later with standard paths. If you are trying to allow more flexibility, with the user being allowed to pick less than four at the start and potentially more than one later, that's going to get much more difficult without scripting.

Yes, I was hoping the player could choose between picking new skills or not.

Honestly, with this being your first story, and with your desire to stay away from scripting, I would suggest you simply force the user into a few less options. In other words, just have the user select three skills. Maybe they train them and specialize in one or two, but it will make it much easier on the writing of the story if you just go ahead and force three selections.

The same goes for the later selection -- if you really want to allow the user an option, go ahead and let them either select a new skill or select to train a known skill -- and simply don't worry about a max total number of skills. It really will simplify the writing and get you moving forward and completing that story!