Power Word: Directionally Correct

2nd-level Analytics & Forecasting

Casting Time: 1 action, cast the moment someone asks for the exact number
Range/Area: Self
Components: V (a number, spoken with confidence disproportionate to how it was derived)
Duration: Until someone with access to the underlying data checks
Classes: Data Analyst, VP of Strategy, Product Manager

This spell requires no saving throw. Its effect is gated on whether the stated number has the correct sign and order of magnitude — not on whether it is actually accurate. A number that is up when it should be up, by roughly the right amount, satisfies this spell completely, regardless of the precision anyone believed they were being given.

A creature that later checks the underlying data and finds the number wrong in magnitude, not just precision, may retroactively succeed on a Discovery saving throw against this casting — though by then the number has usually already been used in a decision.

At Higher Levels. When cast using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you may cast this on a range rather than a single number, expanding what counts as “directionally correct” to include nearly any outcome short of the opposite sign.

Flavor: “It’s directionally correct, we can tighten it up later.” — said in every meeting where “later” is not on the agenda