A community all about Baldur's Gate III, the role-playing video game by Larian Studios. BG3 is the third main game in the Baldur's Gate series. Baldur's Gate III is based on a modified version of the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (D&D 5e) tabletop RPG ruleset. Gather your party and venture forth!
General Discussion - [SPOILERS]
Hey everyone. So firstly, if you think you already know the answer to this question, please keep reading - the answer may surprise you.
My venture into this rabbit hole started innocuously enough - a friend of mine reached out to me last night, saying "dude, did you know that Volo is actually a human wizard?"
This intuitively did not (and does not) make sense to me - Volo is clearly a bard, if I ever saw one. Something about him being a wizard didn't sit quite right with me. So, I decided to investigate.
A cursory Google search showed most people saying that he is, in fact, a wizard. But most of the top results were from Reddit or other forums, and I wanted something a little more concrete. Which is when I stumbled upon this -
Volothamp Geddarm - Wiki article
Well, that certainly looks like our Volo. And it does indeed say that he's a wizard. So, case closed...right???
Not exactly.
One thing that struck me, is that the Volo in BG3 really does not match the description of the person described in that article. Volothamp Geddarm is described as a very powerful wizard - think like, Elminster levels. So why is he level 3? Why is his persona that of a goofy, trouble-making scamp? Why do we frequently see him play instruments and sing songs, but never cast (or even talk about) spells?
Well - I later on in that Wiki article, I stumbled upon what appears to be the answer. To quote the relevant part:
“"Volo" is not to be confused with "Marcus Volo", real name Marcus Wands, of the Wands family of Waterdeep. A trouble-making bard, Wands gained Volothamp's moniker after he stole an artifact from a powerful wizard, and laid the blame on the far more infamous scapegoat of the real Volo.”
Now, I want you to tell me what's more likely. That the Volo at camp is an all-powerful wizard of great renown? Or that he's a trouble-making bard that frequently lies and exaggerates, and would absolutely not be above stealing the OG Volo's name?
I know what my answer is. I think that the Volo we have at camp is BG3 is not the renowned Volothamp Geddarm wizard at all - but is instead Marcus "Volo" Wands, the notorious troublemaking bard. And I think the evidence is on my side.
BUT - and here's where I need your help, Reddit - I may have evidence, but I don't have definitive, concrete PROOF of anything. I want to know if there's ANYTHING in BG3 - a dialogue option, a cutscene, a super hidden Easter egg - that can confirm beyond any shadow of doubt whether our Volo is the "real" wizard Volo, or if he's notorious bard Marcus Wands?
Given everything we know about BG3 Volo, I feel pretty confident that it's the latter. Be honest - what do you think?
TL;DR - I think BG3 camp Volo is actually the bard "Marcus Wands", rather than the wizard Volothamp Geddarm. I'm looking for concrete evidence that would fully prove (or disprove) this either way. If not, feel free to just speculate. Much love to the BG3 community <3
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Let's look at Volo.
We find a secret note between Volo and Elminster. In which Volo refers directly to Mystra.
From the tone of the letter, it isn't a first-contact kind of letter but they seem to be on close terms.
The gods are very concerned about the current situation, but outside of [REDACTED] are prohibited from directly interfering. Why is this important to mention?
Volo, someone who's pals with Elminster and knows Mystra, just-so-happens to show up at a crucial time.
Volo, just so happens to have a prosthetic eye that's superior to our current eye, and helps us.
Oh let me pluck out your eye and give you a superior one... in this weird coincidental scenario where you'd want me to treat your eye.
Volo, claims to have been around during the previous Bhaal Spawn incident and is able to give us important information about the ritual
Arguably more important info than even Jaheira gives us.
Likewise, being a human, his ways for being around when the Bhaal Spawn were last an issue are kind of limited. "Wizard" is one of the few ways. (Also Druid, immortality spells, whatever).
As we see in the Goblin camp, Volo is actually a really horrible Bard.
Seems like one can argue that Volo was kind of nudged towards us by Mystra to give us aid. And is pretending to be a Bard so they can sneak around without people going "OMFG an upper-tier wizard is walking around, that is strange"
Oooh, I like this explanation! I think it’s certainly plausible. I like the idea of Volo secretly being an ultra-powerful wizard going full incognito to spy on us by pretending to be a goofy bard
Im not yet ready to say we’ve “proved” it one way or the other, but this is definitely an interesting angle to consider!
Volo has been a wizard since before bard was a class that existed in DnD. He has always been known for being pretty bad at wizardry though, not sure where you're getting that he was powerful. He is, however, one of the most important wizards in existence because Mystra made him one of the weave anchors that keeps magic working. He has no idea this is the case and she did so specifically because he is so stupid and bad at magic.
Where has Volo ever been described as a powerful wizard? In 2e he was level 5 Wizard while 5e lowered him to level 1 (and he was classified as CR 1/4). He has supposedly made some minor spells so he has some knack for the spellwork.
I think you might be mixing Volo's capability as a wizard with the fact that he's a Weave Anchor which Volo himself isn't aware (only Mystra and Elminster know about it). It doesn't grant him extra powers beyond uncanny luck to survive unlikely situations. What it does is that Volo is acting as one of the backups for Mystra if she was ever to die again so that the Weave doesn't collapse the same way as during the Spellplague.
I guess it depends on what you mean by bard. When I make that distinction of wizard vs bard, I’m thinking about how they cast spells. You can have charismatic, bold, confident wizards. I think many wizards like to put on performances to show off. In game mentions of bard can be confusing as not all bards are the bard class. Just as we call guards, guards and not fighters or barbarians. Bard is a normal word for a performer or story teller.
I would think about the goblin infiltration thing. Volo seems like the type to really take the risk as that’s his hook, surviving where he shouldn’t have. I don’t think an imposter would go to such lengths of commitment to put themselves in harms way.
I wouldn’t look too deeply into the in game level for him. If you really need a reason for it: it’s part of the illusion to make him seem incapable and not a big deal. It’s part of his camouflage as a weave anchor.
The game treats him as a Bard. There's dialog referring to him as such when your characters see him on stage at the goblin camp (I don't recall the exact lines). I don't know of anything proving he's that specific bard though.
I would assume that any marginally competent wizard would have learned Misty Step, Knock, and Invisibility at some point in his career. However our Volo needs help to get out of a crude cage, and then uses a potion for invisibility.
Alternatively. He’s being a competent spy. It is waiting for us. As he helps us greatly on our quest, but only in exchange for us helping him.
Unrelated to the main topic: Volo proves to be a surprisingly effective healer. He could have successfully removed a standard mind flayer tadpole, a feat typically achievable only by major arcane practitioners or with ancient technologies. Normally, only a few characters, such as the hag, the creche, and certain NPCs, can cure a standard mind flayer parasite. Remarkably, Volo was able to attempt this with just an ice pick.