Try the 3.5 climbing rules. The player can know precisely what outcome they'll get from trying to climb something, and facing a described situation, leverage that knowledge to achieve a desired outcome. A player declaring an intent to climb something isn't asking the GM to design a resolution mechanic or looking for permission to achieve a specific outcome; the outcome has been written ahead of time in a general case, and the player is leveraging it in a specific case to get the board state to something they prefer.
Perhaps it's better understood via the fortune mechanics; players aren't rolling to see if they get an outcome they want, they're rolling a percentage chance to activate a specific action, with a specific outcome baked in. Resolution isn't the roll, it's applying the specific effects of the action to the boardstate.
Can you map this to narrative themes? Or is this just an aside like in your original post? I personally can't conceptualize how this generalizes out.