Approximate

This spell allows you to quickly estimate how many objects of a particular type are within a small area. Describe or name a type of object that you can see within range. The type of object you name can be as specific or as general as you like—“golden hoop earrings” works just as well as “earrings”—but when naming a specific object, its distinguishing features must be obvious at a glance, or the spell will not register the object. You gain an instant estimate of the number of objects of that type within a 1-foot cube originating from the object. The number is rounded to the largest digit. For example, you could look at a basket of 172 toenail clippings, and you would learn that it held approximately 200 toenail clippings, but the spell couldn't determine that there are exactly 172 toenail clippings in the basket.

This spell can't estimate any number of objects if any thickness of lead, even a thin sheet, blocks a direct path between you and any of the objects. Additionally, the spell is automatically fooled by objects disguised as other objects, such as with the arcanist's magic aura spell. For instance, the spell would register a copper breastplate plated in gold as a gold breastplate, not as a copper breastplate.