So last night in my game I had a PC drop below zero. The ghoul went to go tie the wizard up with some moldy rope when the PC was like "No, he's got to grapple me first." To keep the game going, we said we'll resolve it after the game when we can look up the rules (as not to bog down the fight.)
"If you have your target pinned, otherwise restrained, or unconscious, you can use rope to tie him up. This works like a pin effect, but the DC to escape the bonds is equal to 20 + your Combat Maneuver Bonus (instead of your CMD). The ropes do not need to make a check every round to maintain the pin. If you are grappling the target, you can attempt to tie him up in ropes, but doing so requires a combat maneuver check at a –10 penalty. If the DC to escape from these bindings is higher than 20 + the target’s CMB, the target cannot escape from the bonds, even with a natural 20 on the check." - Rules as per "Tie Up"
To me, this doesn't sound like I have to grapple the target first like my PC is saying, because I've already got them unconscious, but am I doing it wrong? Does that ghoul have to spend it's first turn grappling a below zero creature, just to make sure it's holding it right so it can tie it up next turn? Or could the ghoul just tie up the creature on it's first turn rather than the second because the creature is unconscious?
Insofar as I'm aware, you still need to spend the appropriate grapple/tie actions, but you're definitely going to auto-succeed against a helpless or unconscious target.
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Looking at the rules, I see the first statement as a list of conditions.
If they are pinned or restrained or unconscious you can tie them up. Since the character is unconscious you can tie them up. You don't have to also pin and restrain them first before you can tie them up.
Even if you wanted to treat it as a combat maneuver, there is the following statement
If your target is immobilized, unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated, your maneuver automatically succeeds (treat as if you rolled a natural 20 on the attack roll).
Normally, first you grapple, then you pin, then you tie up.
In this case, first you grapple, then you tie up, as you don't have to pin them if they're already restrained or unconscious. Your checks automatically succeed per above.
Freedom of movement will still ruin your day, though. (Which boggles the mind a bit, but that's Pathfinder.)
It’s amazing how some people read the rules and then apply as many ridiculous unwritten restrictions as possible. Is your target pinned, restrained, or unconscious? Just like with feat prerequisites separated by a comma, you have to meet ONE of these (for example “weapon focus; monk 4, brawler 4, or BAB +8”... you need ONE of those last 3 mentioned).
Do you have your enemy pinned? You can tie him up. Do you have your enemy “otherwise retrained” (the only arguable point)? You can tie him up. Is your enemy unconscious? You can tie him up.
How can people both A) be wrong about the only grammatically correct way to read the description, and B) defend the least intuitive, most ridiculous turn of events possible. Grapple and pin an unconscious body... what a joke.
To answer your question your player is unequivocally wrong, you are well within the bounds of the rules, as well as the common sense of a properly functioning brain, to tie him up on your next turn after he is unconscious (assuming you have ready access to rope... retrieving a stored item is another action altogether)
The rules you're referencing describe how to tie up an opponent as part of maintaining a grapple, not how to tie up an opponent as an action in and of itself. Note that there isn't even an action type for tying up an opponent, as it is not an action--it's an option chosen as part of the standard action used to maintain the grapple.
If you're in the middle of combat, where action economy counts, yes, you have to grapple (but you don't have to pin) a creature before tying it up, meaning that in most cases it will take a character two rounds to tie up an unconscious opponent--with, barring outside intervention, guaranteed success.
The rules you're referencing describe how to tie up an opponent as part of maintaining a grapple, not how to tie up an opponent as an action in and of itself. Note that there isn't even an action type for tying up an opponent, as it is not an action--it's an option chosen as part of the standard action used to maintain the grapple.If you're in the middle of combat, where action economy counts, yes, you have to grapple (but you don't have to pin) a creature before tying it up, meaning that in most cases it will take a character two rounds to tie up an unconscious opponent--with, barring outside intervention, guaranteed success.
^ This.