| The DM asks the player to describe the action the PC is taking.
Based on that description, the DM comes up with some way of resolving it.
Here are a bunch of ways:
"My PC is a woodsman, so he's used to making snares and crap like that to catch and restrain animals. So I hog-tie him."
A Nature check sets the DC to escape. (Simple opposed roll.)
A Nature check +5 sets the DC to escape. (It's harder to escape than it is to tie someone up.)
A Nature check +7 sets the DC to escape. (It's harder to escape than it is to tie someone up... and hog-tying him? That would be hard to get out of. Another +2.)
The player rolls Nature (+2/+5/+7) against a DC set by the DM (based on the NPC's level); failure means that the target can escape when it wants.
The NPC can't escape.
The PC just fails. (This is probably because he's a shape-shifter or something.)
"I tie him up. My PC is an academic so he doesn't know how. Um... but he once read a book on how to do it..."
A Dex check sets the DC to escape.
A Dex check +5 sets the DC.
As above, but use Int.
etc.
__________________ "If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry."
-- Ernest Hemingway, "A Farewell to Arms" Burning Empires: Boldaq
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