Volo

Volothamp Geddarm, or Volo, for short, is a Camp Follower in Baldur's Gate 3. He can be first found at the Sacred Pool during Act One, interviewing a bear. Volo is a recurring character in Forgotten Realms media and a returning character from Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.

“

Our fates are bound, my wisdom vast, I dearly hope our kinship lasts!

„

— Volo's dedication written in Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate (Signed)

Overview

Volothamp Geddarm is a widely travelled wizard, most known for his guidebooks such as Volo's Guide to Monsters and Volo's Guide to Waterdeep. Elminster, an occasional fact checker and editor of his books - notably Volo's Guide to Monsters - has said he is prone to "exaggeration, misrepresentation, and flights of fancy".

Involvement

Act One

Volo is found at the Sacred Pool in the Emerald Grove. If interacting with him, he requests an interview on the recent goblin assault against the Grove. He then departs for the Goblin Camp, intent on documenting goblin behavior from the inside.

The party later finds Volo as a captive to the goblins, who force him to act as their jester and "entertainment". After faltering his performance, Volo is locked in a cage inside the Defiled Temple. If rescued, the party can invite him to their Campsite. If not freed before the conclusion of the Grove's quest line, Volo remains in the Goblin Camp awaiting rescue.

If attempting to pickpocket Volo during his dialogue after opening the cage door, Volo does not drink a Potion of Invisibility. Instead, he stands still and initiates combat with any patrolling goblin that sees him. The party members are not forced into combat even after Volo dies.

If Volo arrives at the party's Campsite, he offers to remove the mind flayer tadpole from the player character's skull via a highly questionable eye surgery. Agreeing to his eye surgery ends in catastrophe, but the player character receives Volo's Ersatz Eye as compensation, granting a permanent enhancement. This offer is only available during Acts One and Two. If accepting the surgery, Volo leaves afterwards.

At the conclusion of the Emerald Grove quest line, Volo attends the celebratory party regardless of which side the party aligned with. If the Grove was protected, he sings a song. If the Grove was attacked, he is kept in a cage (for his own protection) and asks the player character pointed questions as to how they justify slaughtering the refugees.

If the player character does not allow Volo to perform eye surgery, he remains in the camp until the end of Act Two. He does not have any new dialogue but can act as a vendor via the "Trade" option in the dialogue UI. Like other Traders, his inventory continually refreshes with 5 Potions of Animal Speaking and various scrolls that roughly match the party's level, including up to Level 6 spells. Being caught pickpocketing Volo has no consequence besides him briefly fleeing and losing some opinion of the offending character.

Act Three

In Baldur's Gate, Volo can be found trapped in front of the Steel Watch Foundry near the Grey Harbour Docks, tied to a railcart loaded with Smokepowder Barrels and an angry mob ready to execute him. After rescuing and speaking with him, he appears again at camp and offers the book Regarding the Slayer.

Companion approval

• If Volo is allowed to perform his operation  -1  -1  -1  -1

Combat

Attacks and abilities

Volo has no spell slots, but knows the following spells:

 Colour Spray (+ )

 Blind creatures up to a combined 33 Hit Points.

 Range: Self

AoE: 5 m / 17 ft (Cone)

 Grease (+ )

Cover the ground in flammable grease. It becomes Difficult Terrain and creatures within can fall  Prone.

DEX Save

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

 Magic Missile (+ )

Create three darts of magical force, each dealing 1d4 + 1Force damage to its target. The darts always hit their target, and can each be targeted individually.

 Range: 18 m / 60 ft

Store

Corresponds to the DEN_Volo_Trade treasure table.

Item		Quantity	Chance
Scroll Table		9	Always
Potion of Healing		3	Always
Grease Bottle		1	Always
Thieves' Tools		4;5;6	Always
The Whispering Promise		1	Always
Potion of Animal Speaking		5	Always
Poor Trader Table		1	Always
Common Music Instrument Subtable		3	Always

In addition, he sells a random Scholar/Travel/Monster/Politics/Entertainment book.

Related literature

• Balthazar Personal Notes: 3
• Born to be Wild
• Dearest Elminster
• For the Attention of Volothamp Geddarm
• On Goblins: My Life Among the Conquering Host
• Volo's Complete Guide to the Behaviour of Nymphs
• Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate
• Volo's Guide to Baldur's Gate (Signed)
• Volo's Guide to Spirits and Spectres
• Volo's Note

Gallery

• 

  Volo's model.

• 

  Volo's appearance at the start of Early Access

• 

  Volo's appearance in Patch 5 and 6 of Early Access

• 

  Volo's appearance since Patch 7 of Early Access

Notes

• Volo is voiced by Stephen Hogan, replacing Rob Paulsen from previous games.
• Volo has appeared in multiple adventures, notably Tomb of Annihilation, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, as well as several video games such as Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir, Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.
• Volo met the protagonist of the previous Baldur's Gate games twice, and even got his hands on Irenicus' notes on torturing the protagonist (see Regarding the Slayer).
• If an Instrument is played near Volo, he joins in by whistling.
• If approached in his cell at the Goblin Camp, Volo will always recognize a character he spoke to previously at the Grove, even if  disguised, suggesting he may have some form of Truesight capability.
• In the Emerald Grove, Volo claims he never learned how to speak with animals, despite carrying and selling Potions of Animal Speaking.

External links

Volothamp Geddarm on the Forgotten Realms Wiki