Locutus sum, et Stellam Vidi (3.5e Epic Spell)

It is said that he was mortal.

If he was, and came into life from his mother's womb like any of us, I hold that he did not remain as such.

''True, he lived on another world, where he struggled, bled, and wept, his life filled with strife and inexplicable war. Yet he quelled these wars, bringing silence to a thousand armies with only his presence. How could a mortal do such a thing?''

''Yes, he had desire and love, this is true, but I tell you that no mortal could have actually stopped time just to spend an evening with his loved ones, nor could a mortal desire the sun and pluck it out of the very sky. These are things that he is said to have done. How could he be a mortal? I ask you.''

''More than anything else, how could a mortal have done this? How could he have created you? How could he have created me? What about the sky above our heads? The grass beneath our feet? This entire world - a world - which holds hosts of mortals. How could a single mortal spawn so much? It is unimaginable, I tell you.''

''No, for certain. If the Mage in Green was born a mortal, he did not remain a mortal. I hold that he became something far more akin to a deity in his life.''

Even among elder spells, Locutus sum, et Stellam Vidi is astonishing.

Where other elder spells are objects of legend which dwarf the magical prowess of all but the most powerful magicians to ever cast spells, Locutus sum, et Stellam Vidi dwarfs even those capable of trading in elder spells.

It is one of two elder spells which were created by one particular magi: the Mage in Green, who is believed to be the only spellcaster who was ever capable of casting either one. Even a high-level mage who stumbles across a manuscript of either of these spells would not even be able to discern it from gibberish, as a small child would not be able to read an encyclopedia, and even a mage who would be considered capable of handling elder spells, would have to strain their mind to even comprehend the undertaking of Locutus sum, et Stellam Vidi.

Most mortal minds even have difficulty comprehending the scale of tasks required to even study such a spell, which begins with the purchase of equipment with a total price of one hundred million, ninety-eight thousand gold pieces, which adds up to just at 1,001 English tons of gold, or 0.5% of all gold ever mined by humans on Earth. After that expenditure on nothing beyond research equipment, you must spend two thousand and two days, which is five years and one hundred and seventy six days, more than half a decade, spending every waking moment researching this spell, which will drain you by four million, three thousand, nine hundred and twenty experience points, which requires you to have at least reached level 90. As if this were not enough, the caster must also prove themselves skilled enough to handle the spell by succeeding on a DC 11,122 Spellcraft check.

The actual casting of the spell takes an identical amount of time to the researching of the spell, another two thousand and two days, which makes the spell itself require, from beginning research to actual casting, one decade and one year (technically, it's one decade and three hundred and fifty two days, but I'm rounding because "one decade and one year" sounds cool). During these 286 weeks, the caster must spend every day in a particular structure: an observatory fitted with powerful telescopes, the entire building worth two million, five hundred thousand gold pieces (25 tons of gold).

During the casting of the spell, the caster observes one particular area of the heavens, between forty million and one billion miles from the planet where the observatory is located. This area also has to be at least forty million miles from any other celestial body, such as another planet or a moon.

At the end of this endless casting time, gods look up, startled, and astronomers worldwide flip tables as an entire planet pops into existence in the space the caster was observing.

This planet can range in size from approximately the size of the Moon (a diameter of exactly two thousand miles, a volume of four million, one hundred eighty eight thousand, seven hundred ninety thousand cubic miles, and a surface area of twelve million, five hundred sixty six thousand, four hundred square miles) to the size of a quadruple Earth (a diameter of twelve thousand, four hundred and seven miles, a volume of exactly one trillion cubic miles, and a surface area of four hundred eighty three million, five hundred ninety seven thousand square miles).

This planet does not actually need to be summoned in a spherical shape, but, within a few years, due to gravitational effects, it will naturally collapse into a rough sphere no larger or smaller than the above given dimensions. Also, the nature of this spell guides the planet to follow a natural orbit within the solar system. So, no, the caster cannot set this planet on a collision course with another planet. They also can't specify the length of the year. The caster can, however, specify the rate of rotation, thus setting the length of the day on this planet. The initial tilt of the planet is also in the caster's ability to control, affecting the nature of the seasons on the planet.

The composition of the planet is also in the caster's control, but only to a certain degree. For example, the caster can specify any number of materials for the planet to be made of, even making the entire thing a solid sphere of adamantium (though that would be a boring use for this spell). However, the caster cannot specify the locations of these materials, and veins of adamantium could be hidden beneath miles and miles of marble. Generally, most gasses and fluids will be on the surface, though, let's suppose the caster made the planet 20% water, 20% carbon dioxide, and 60% adamantium. With such a configuration, it would be entirely predicable that nation-sized pockets of carbon dioxide and water might be hidden miles beneath a surface of adamantium.

Continent shapes, tectonic activity, locations of mountains, ravines, and cavern systems, are completely beyond the caster's control. Though, at such a level as this spell requires, the caster could go to the planet and begin using epic spells to shape things how he wants them.

The planet starts out as completely lifeless, though it could very easily have a breathable atmosphere and produce it's own magnetic field to ward off solar winds. Any caster with greater teleport can travel to the planet, so long as they are aware of it, in that case, and from there, people can cast spells to create life or just start bringing plants and animals over.

Focus: An observatory worth 2,500,000 gp.