You need to start card crafting fairly early in Nightingale, as Realm Cards are needed to make new portals, which, in turn, are needed to explore. Once you've increased your gear score and bested the first Site of Power, you receive a quest telling you to venture into a Forest Antiquarian realm. The catch is that you need to craft the cards yourself.

Unless you've been incredibly lucky and found both a Forest Card and an Antiquarian Card in a Fae chest, you'll need to get to work. With that said, if you've checked your existing crafting stations and aren't sure where to start, look no further. Here's how to craft cards in Nightingale, including the resources you need to gather. 

Nightingale card crafting: How to get started 

You need a Simple Enchanter's Focus to craft cards in Nightingale. The schematic for this is available from the Essence Trader in exchange for Essence Dust, though you'll also need a Mortar Station, a Simple Saw Table, and a Smelter if you don't have those schematics yet either.

Here are the materials you need to build a Simple Enchanter's Focus:

• One Lumber: Crafted at the Saw Table with a Wood Bundle.
• Two Ingots: Crafted at the Smelter with ore.
• Five Glass: Crafted at the Smelter with gems.

Once you've set up the crafting station, you'll automatically get the schematics to make five different Realm Cards, including the ones you need for the quest. Here are the materials you'll need for each card: 

• One Paper
• One Ink
• 25 Essence Dust

Paper is made at a Simple Saw Table. You need two Wood Bundles which you get from chopping down trees with a wood axe. Ink is crafted at a Simple Mortar Station using Refined Pigment, which in turn, comes from either meat, mushrooms, or ore—your choice. Essence Dust is extracted from items and materials.

If you want more Realm Card schematics, you'll need to search out and complete Sites of Power to unlock them, just like you did for the quest that unlocked the Antiquarian Realm Card.