How Baldur’s Gate 3’s Volo managed to live over 150 years

Table of Contents

Intro

When the adventurers meet Volo in Baldur’s Gate 3 he just seems like another writer out of his gourd but he is possibly one of the most interesting characters not only in the game but the entirety of the Forgotten Realms.

One of the adventurer writer’s most amusing traits is that he is over 150 years old in Baldur’s Gate 3, despite humans having a much shorter lifespan and him trying his best to get killed in an idiotic fashion.

So what is it that makes him tick? During our search for the truth, we came across 4 potential reasons that didn’t pan out and 2 reasons that definitely allowed him to live to an age most humans can only dream about.

While the first 4 reasons are not the answer you may seek, they do offer a glimpse into Volo’s interesting adventures of the past, so we decided to keep them in the article.

Human lifespan is kind of short in the Forgotten Realms

Compared to the other playable races and some races we meet in Baldur’s Gate 3, humans have a rather short lifespan. Of the 13 races in the list below, only Orcs and Dragonborn live shorter lives than humans as the rest of them often make it to 150 or longer.

Aasimar: 160 years
Deep gnomes: 250 years
Dragonborn: 80 years
Drow: Up to 750 years
Dwarfs: 350 years
Elves: 750 years
Githyanki: Up to 125 years. Immortal in astral planes.
Gnomes: Over 300 years
Half-elves: 128 to 180 years
Halflings: 150 years
Humans: less than 100 years
Orcs: 50 years
Tieflings: 90-150 years

In spite of this, Volo, a human, is over 150 years old in Baldur’s Gate 3 even if we go for conservative estimates, meaning he could be even older while his appearance is that of a man in his 30s.

Volo’s birth date and age in Baldur’s Gate 3

Volothamp Geddarm was born somewhere in a bog according to Ed Greenwood, who featured him in his Forgotten Realms works but didn’t provide an exact date of birth.

He first made a major spectacle in 1358 DR after Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical was published. Considering he had to do extensive research in order to uncover all the forbidden and forgotten spells that caused the ire of every mage that knew of Volo, we can surmise he was at least 18 at the time but there is a good chance he was older.

However, if we continue with the conservative assumption that Volo was born in 1340 DR, it would mean he is 152 in Baldur’s Gate 3 while his appearance suggests he is a man in his 30s, neither of which fit with the usual human lifespan rules.

So what gives? How did this menace get to live so long and look so youthful? We jumped into the rabbit hole so you don’t have to and here are the results.

Possible causes of Volo’s longevity

While researching Volo’s longevity, we came across 4 possible causes, all of which were encountered in Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir.

Volo got lucky

In 1368 DR, 10 years after publishing the Guide to All Things Magical, Volo found himself in Elturel where he decided to gamble against a random Barbarian. Unbeknownst to either of them, Bane’s son was trying to steal the powers of Tymora, goddess of luck, at the same time. This caused an inordinate amount of luck to get out, run rampant, and wreak havoc over Faerun.

This event also affected Volo, who kept rolling doubles eight times in a row, angering the Barbarian in the process and causing a foot chase with no victims. After things settled, it appears that the lucky effects persisted, hinting this could be one of the reasons why Volo has an extended lifespan.

While on on a ship about to eat his soup, he got distracted by a group of dolphins and when he got back to the meal, it was gone, stolen by a crew member who later turned up dead since the soup was poisoned. The ship subsequently crashed but Volo survived alongside a small group of adventurers.

Even though good luck can help one evade untimely death, it doesn’t actually extend natural lifespan on its own so this theory did not pan out.

The Simbul’s Sly Smile

Publishing “Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical” in 1358 didn’t do any favors for young Geddarm. On the contrary, he became a target for many powerful mages and wizards who wanted him to suffer for the damage his book caused – namely hidden and forgotten spells making their way to the general public.

Powerful wizards Elminster Aumar and Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun stepped up to the plate and defended Volo, but not being entirely pleased with him, handed the aspiring writer off to Simbul, the Witch Queen of Aglarond.

She had her fun with the novice wizard and writer by turning him into a bird and making him fly into a wall, singing his hair and a few other punishments. Along the way, she felt either remorse or pity for Volo, which caused her to give him an enchanted stone as a parting gift.

This keepsake reduced all harm done to its carrier but the magic would stop protecting him if the stone changed hands. Protection wards from a powerful magic wielder such as Simbul could potentially extend his lifespan but this theory evaporated as soon as Volo gave the stone to the player’s party in Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir.

Volo’s rejuvenating ring

While Elminster was fine with giving Volo up to Simbul for punishment, he also had a soft spot for the hapless writer which is why he created a Rejuvenating Ring especially for him.

“This small unassuming ring granted the wearer increased vitality and, once per day, the wearer could cast the Cure Critical Wounds spell”

The ring’s description clearly stated it granted increased vitality which was another hint it could help with longevity but just like the stone he received from Simbul, he gave it away to adventurers in Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir.

Sa’Sani’s blood magic

While adventuring with the aforementioned party during 1374 DR, they came across a wizard and merchant Sa’Sani and Volo quickly fell for her. Seizing the opportunity, the merchant cast a blood ritual that bound them to each other, although the ulterior motive was that if anything bad were to happen to her, the injuries would heal at the expense of Volo’s own vitality.

Sa’Sani’s ritual had unforeseen consequences and she began hearing Volo’s disjointed thoughts, which eventually made her enamored with him. While there is no direct mention, it is possible the ritual worked the other way around as well, lending Volo increased longevity. This theory ended up inconclusive since Sa’Sani’s fate is decided by the players, meaning she could be dead now and the ritual would have no effect on the writer.

The real reasons for Volo’s longevity

And we are finally here – the reason why Volo seemingly managed to live longer than any human who is not a vampire, a powerful wizard or touched by deities.

As we mentioned previously, Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical angered some powerful wizards in 1358 DR and he kept up the trend of pissing people off for the entirety of his long lifespan, continuing to do so in 1492 DR, the year in which Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place. Along the way, he met some powerful individuals who took a liking to him and protected the troublesome writer in various ways, including magical Imprisonment.

Time skip

During 1367 DR, Volo speculated rampantly about Sword Heralds, a mysterious order of mages which caused Elminster to warn him about doing so, threatening imprisonment should he not cease these activities.

It would appear the threat fell on deaf ears as Volo was active for at least another 7 years until his speculations finally pushed Elminster’s buttons a little too much. As a result, Elminster used an Imprisonment spell on him which resulted in Volo spending time as a frog, a stone ornament and sometimes a stone ornament of a frog.

He remained in this magical prison for anywhere between 18 and 50 years, after which Elminster freed him and explained events that transpired in the meantime. Since he was restored to his pre-imprisonment form, it means he did not age during this period and this is the first conclusive evidence of a cause of Volo’s longevity.

Touched by a deity

Remember how we mentioned Volo “seemingly” lived longer than those touched by a deity? As it turns out, he was also touched by one even though he was not aware of it.

During his time as Elminster’s prisoner, something called Spellplague happened. Just when you though Shar couldn’t be any worse, you get to learn she and Cyric were the cause of Spellplague since they assassinated Mystra in 1385 DR. The resulting rampant magic caused terrible harm on Faerun and threatened other realms as well. Despite this, Volo was unaffected.

As it turns out, he unknowingly became one of Mystra’s Weave Anchors somewhere along the way. So what is a Weave Anchor anyway? In short, the Anchors serve multiple functions, the most important ones being stabilization of magic and Mystra’s plan B in case of her demise, kind of like Voldemort’s horcruxes in Harry Potter.

It is thanks to these Anchors that Spellplague was eventually dealt with and Mystra was revived. Other than Volo, Mystra’s Chosen is usually an anchor, along with Simbul and a few other individuals and locations.

The individuals who become Anchors gain several benefits such as being able to cause anti-magic fields, stabilize the Weave and…

“They also had a tendency to live longer than the usual lifespan of their kin, and to escape death against the odds.“

So there you have it – Volo’s appearance is youthful despite being over 150 years old because he pissed off the right wizard and was lucky enough to fall into Mystra’s good graces.

One would think such a feat would require discovering incredible knowledge and decades of mastering it but in Volo’s case, it turned out it pays off to reenact Jackass all over Faerun.

While connecting real life to Forgotten Realms seems absurd, just remember that Volo once met Ed Greenwood and Julia Martin who took his last remaining copy of the Guide to All Things Magical and published it on Earth.