In the skills chapter of the PF2E CRB there's an example of Ezren "crafting a rune". To me, a rune is a symbol. It has to be put somewhere, like on a weapon or armor, or a runestone. So where is Ezren putting this rune? Have I missed something?
BTW, I've read the section on crafting, the section on runes, and the description of the magical crafting feat. They do not provide an obvious answer.
That's what I thought, but the example doesn't say that.
Another thing. 65 GP worth of "materials"? What materials? And what is Ezren supposed to do with any that are left over when he gets done? If he's putting this rune on something, is the cost of the something subsumed in the cost of the "materials", or is it a separate additional cost?
The item's price, in this case, is 65 gp. So if I take 4 days, I think it is, expending half of that, I can stop, pay the other half, and have the rune. Or I can continue crafting for however long it takes until I don't have to pay any more cost. So the cost to make something is somewhere between the full sale price of the item and half the full sales price. At one point I make a profit of exactly half the sale price; at the other I make no profit at all.
That still doesn't explain what these "raw materials" are. I suppose the argument is "it's an abstraction, who cares?" Not a very satisfactory argument, y'ask me.
Presumably, if I (or Ezren, in the book example) were to continue crafting until the cost of crafting is exactly half the sale price of the item, I (or Ezren) will have exactly half the sale price of the item in "materials" sitting around my shop. What am I supposed to do with them? "Hey, I've got some 'stuff' here. Anyone want to give me 32.5 gold for it?" "What 'stuff'?" "I dunno, stuff. Come on, I need to get rid of it." "No, thanks."
I suppose I could keep it until the next time I need to craft something. Are the materials needed to craft a rune the same as the materials to craft say, a longbow? Or a wooden bucket? Or a suit of plate? Where am I going to store all this inventory? How much will storing it cost me?
Or am I just supposed to toss that 'stuff' in the nearest dump?
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Why all the snark? What exactly the materials are is a detail that is relevant for flavor and nothing else. You said that "it's an abstraction" is unsatisfactory for you, but what would be the alternative? Do you want the CRB - already over 600 pages long - to list the materials for every single item? Do you want it to explain the chemistry behind Alchemist's Fire and Bottled Lightning? There are limits to what can reasonably fit into such a volume, and I would think that most people would be quite disappointed if actual game mechanics were cut to fit fluff like this into the book. And if you are seriously asking if a longbow and a suit of plate are made of the same materials, I do not know what to tell you.
So, to reiterate what was already said: the materials can be whatever the GM wants them to be. If you want a detailed description, talk to them (or if you are GMing yourself, make something up); in the case of runes, this will probably tie into how magic works in your world (similar to the costs of learning spells). If you want to talk about ideas or other people's explanations, I would suggest opening a thread in the General Discussion forum, since that's not really a Rules question.
If you're reading snark into what I wrote, well, you're mistaken.
I actually think the general crafting material rules are fine because it assumes you are in a settlement where you can obtain any materials as you need them. Mundane raw materials tend to be pretty obvious-- wood for wooden items, metal for metal ones, etc. Magical items aren't quite as obvious, but we know other versions of the game assume scribing spells uses "rare ink" and that gold dust or silver dust can be used for crafting items, as well.
The only time this is going to matter is if you are away from a settlement, in which case you can probably breakdown stuff you already have for raw materials. The rules on scrapping and salvaging an item keep this at the same value as selling the item-- half its price. So if you want to make an adamantine longsword, you could scrap an adamantine suit of armor you found. Scrapping magic items should logically let you render some magical materials, and if you use gold or silver dust as a magical reagent then it is very easy to convert coins to raw materials. (This also makes a lot of sense as to why gold is valuable in fiction.)
What I am still scratching my head over is how Snares work. So you craft a snare on the spot, and don't have to supply the materials ( until that point. But you aren't exactly able to run back to town and purchase raw materials. So either you need to purchase crafting supplies ahead of time to keep your Snare Kit stocked, or Snares are effectively Shrodinger's Crafting and you retroactively assume you had previously obtained the materials ahead of time.
I don't actually mind if its the latter, personally. I think retroactively adding things you "planned for" is a fine device in modern RPGs to allow players who aren't as clever as Batman to feel like Batman. But I'd like it if it were spelled out a little clearer.
Hm. Generally speaking, in RL anyway, you would use "materials" found locally where you happen to be to craft snares. Though I don't know how that would work in a dungeon. :-)