The Starcaptor

"They shuffle a deck and call it fate. I call it a liability. Especially when they deal from the top and bottom."

— Seraphis Nightvale, Librarian of the Last Home

Not all Magical Girls hurl glitter and love beams. Some flip cards, speak ancient names, and make contracts.

Starcaptors are drawn from the trope of magical summoners — wielders of enchanted decks or tomes through which they bind, summon, and command spirits. Their power is not just internal, but lies scattered in the form of magical seals — each one an echo of a captured force or loyal construct. The cards they carry might represent elements, creatures, or phenomena, and through them, the Starcaptor channels awe, binding power to purpose.

In the Last Home, a Starcaptor might have arrived chasing a rogue seal through the pantry or stumbled in while seeking the source of a cosmic rift. Wherever they’re from—be it Earth, the Astral Shuffle, or a world made entirely of floating libraries—their arrival tends to be heralded by gusts of paper and the annoyed muttering of an overworked mascot.

You gain this trope at 3rd level. It grants features at 3rd, 6th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level.

Starcaptor Bonus Spells

Your magic draws on the bound spirits of your seal deck — varied, useful, and sometimes inconveniently vocal. You gain the following spells at the listed Magical Girl levels. These spells are always prepared and count as Magical Girl spells for you.

• 3rd: *Mascot Companion, Identify
• 5th: *Call of the Bound Beast, Web
• 9th: *Call of the Gladeheart, Fly
• 13th: Banishment, *Call of the Fourfold Flame
• 17th: *Binding Seal, Call of the Primal Star

*See the New Spells: Magical Girl for details.

Seal Binder’s Deck (3rd Level)

Your deck is more than paper and ink — it’s your soul, flattened and laminated.

• You gain a magical Deck of Seals (or card tome) that serves as your unique spellcasting focus. You must hold it to use many of your subclass features. Feel free to personalise it — it might appear as playing cards, illustrated pages, or abstract magical runes.
• You gain proficiency in Arcana, or expertise if already proficient. You may add double your proficiency bonus on Arcana checks related to identifying magic, creatures, or enchantments.
• You learn to “store” spells as prepared seals. After each long rest, choose one 1st- or 2nd-level Magical Girl spell you know. You may cast that spell as a ritual once, even if it doesn’t normally have the ritual tag. You may have one stored seal at a time (increases to 2 at 10th level, 3 at 17th).
• Mascot Companion and Identify are always prepared. When you cast Identify, your deck substitutes for costly components.

Your Mascot Companion spell conjures a creature from your deck — often a winged plush, smug fox, or tiny elemental with too much confidence. It functions like Find Familiar, but the result may sass you.

Arcane Aegis (6th Level)

When things go wrong, you fling a card and hope it makes a satisfying clang.

• When you or a creature you can see within 30 feet is targeted by an attack, you may spend 1 Soul Point and use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll.
• If the attack hits anyway, the target gains resistance to the damage.
• The card shatters in the air with a dramatic flourish — but don’t worry, it’ll be back.

Optional flair: yell “Shield Card — Activate!” and bask in your own magnificence.

Spell Capture (10th Level)

They cast. You counter. With style.

• When a creature you can see casts a spell, you may spend Soul Points equal to the spell’s level and use your reaction to attempt to capture it.
• If the spell’s level is higher than a slot you can cast, make a Charisma check (DC 10 + the spell’s level). On success, the spell fails — and is caught in one of your cards.
• On your next turn (or immediately), you may cast the captured spell without a slot. Otherwise, it vanishes at the end of your next turn.
• Once per long rest. Your DM may allow extra uses if you dramatically overcommit Soul Points.

Notes: Self-range spells must target you. Don't try to capture Power Word Kill unless you really enjoy dice games with death.

Arcane Bindings (14th Level)

If it can move, you can bind it. If it’s already bound, you can humiliate it.

• When you cast a spell that causes the grappled, restrained, paralyzed, or stunned condition, affected targets have disadvantage on saving throws or ability checks to end those conditions early.
• When you cast Planar Binding, you:
• May cast it as an action (instead of 1 hour).
• Ignore the material cost by spending 5 Soul Points instead.
• Must still have the creature summoned or present as normal.
• You gain advantage on ability checks to physically restrain or bind creatures with mundane tools.

Bind first, ask questions later. Bonus points if you name your bindings things like “The Iron Heart Card” or “Cage of Conviction.”

Master of the Sealed Deck (18th Level)

You are now a literal living deck. Try not to shuffle yourself.

• Empowered Summons: When you cast a spell that conjures creatures, you may spend 2 Soul Points to:
• Grant all summons temporary HP equal to twice your Magical Girl level,
• Add +2 to their attack rolls, and
• Extend the spell’s duration by 50%.
• Deck Portal: Once per short rest, you and a willing creature you touch may cast Dimension Door without expending a spell slot or components, by stepping into one card and emerging from another.
• Unbreakable Deck: Your deck is now indestructible under normal conditions. If lost or stolen, it reappears at your side after 1d4 hours or at dawn.
• Dual Concentration: You may maintain two summoning/conjuration spells simultaneously (only one may be 5th level; the other must be 4th or lower). If damaged, roll separate concentration checks for each.

At this level, your deck has a reputation. Do not gamble it. It will cheat on your behalf.