Volothamp Geddarm (/ˈvɒ.loʊ/)
Volothamp Geddarm (pronounced: /ˈvoʊloʊθɑːmp gɛˈdɑːrm/ VOH-loh-thamp geh-DARM listen), or more often Volo for short, was a widely traveled human wizard and sage of Faerûn in the mid-to-late 14 century DR. He was a legendary traveler, explorer, and rogueish mage, and was most famous, or infamous, for his guidebooks including the controversial and notorious Volo's Guide to All Things Magical.
“This guidebook is the next in my ongoing tour of the Realms—I assure thee all, gentles, that you'll find no more diligent guide than your humble servant, Volothamp Geddarm. These last few seasons I've trudged, ridden, swum, sailed, and even flown from the icy wastes north of the Spine of the World to the hot, steaming jungles of the Shining South—and beyond—all in thy service, gentle traveler.”
Personality
What is known of Volo comes via Elminster, who edited, annotated, provided prefaces for, and indeed criticized Volo's guides. In these, he described Volo as "impetuous" but an "engaging rogue" and "irrepressible, nay, pompous and pretentious". Elminster claimed he was disgusted by Volo's "base flattery" and said he was given to "exaggeration, misrepresentation, and flights of fancy." Volo certainly had a reputation for embellishing the truth and for bragging and he had an overly high opinion of himself and his place in the world. Volo was also known to have an acid tongue and to be quite verbose, even bombastic, but overly honest and mocking. Elminster remarked he'd "never met anyone who can hang himself with his own tongue as effectively as old Volo." Yet he nevertheless had some charms. Despite his flaws, however, Volo was soft at heart and he cared for his friends most of all, at least those friends he had. He would do anything he could to aid them. Volo himself claimed to have restless feet and a love of travel, of seeing new things and living life to the full, though his may just have been an excuse for his forced journeys. He considered anything outside the towns and cities to be boring and hazardous. He much preferred the setting of a pleasant tavern or festhall to trekking through a jungle, ruins, or dungeon, and he tended to indulge himself.“Set your course by the truth and you shall never be lost, no matter how far you wander.”
Description
Volo was considered handsome and in his own estimation even extraordinarily handsome. He grew had a moustache and a beard he kept neatly trimmed. He habitually wore a floppy velvet beret that was considered stylish but which had become tatty. It was sometimes adorned with a feather that would droop and look more sad than dashing. He also often wore a once-white loose shirt, leather vest, and breeches and sometimes added a scarf.Abilities
As of the early 1360s DR, Volo was a wizard of only modest ability. He was knowledgeable in rare and unusual spells, but only of low to moderate power, which were the only ones he could cast. Nevertheless, he was thought to have invented several noteworthy minor spells focused on finding and documenting information and for sundry other purposes. For example, Volo's snatch let him steal small tools and weapons, keys, or, more usually, tasty tarts. Common spells he prepared in the mid-1360s DR included blur, cantrip, change self, clairvoyance, color spray, fool's gold, invisibility and invisibility, 10' radius, Nystul's magic aura, phantasmal force and improved phantasmal force, spectral force, and wraithform. Beginning again as a wizard in the late 1480s DR and early 1490s DR, he prepared only comprehend languages,detect magic, disguise self, and friends, mending, and prestidigitation. As a sage, he was primarily interested in the spells and activities of human wizards. His secondary area of expertise was the geography and lore of the Realms, specifically the lands known to be inhabited by humans, as well as ancient history. After the All Things Magical affair, this study took up more and more of his time and effort. He knew a little something about everything, and was only too happy to share with anyone who would hear it. He claimed to be an expert in all the Realms. Otherwise, he was skilled in artistry, namely his writing, as well as dancing and singing; in brewing and cooking; in etiquette and heraldry; and in horse-riding and tailoring.“N-no! Not replacing, good heavens no, just assisting! How could I turn down such an editor as Elminster? It would be an affront to Mystra—er—to all my fans!”Unbeknownst to Volo, he was in fact a Weave anchor, being imbued by Mystra with her divine fire as way to prevent the Weave from collapsing should anything happen to the goddess of magic, again. For security, this was a secret known only to Mystra and Elminster. This had no effect on his person, thoughts, habits, or any other aspect of his life. The only upshot of this was that the power, the goddess, or Elminster kept him alive in more than a few occasions in which by all rights he ought to have died, as much as Elminster might want to disintegrate him sometimes.
History
Volo's Early Life
According to Elminster, at least, Volo was born in a bog somewhere. From such an inauspicious start, he would travel far and wide. In his youth and obscurity, Volo once attended a Mage Fair. Here, he "overheard" something that, combined with what he learned from some Harpers, allowed him to realize the secret of the Dark Lady of Rundreth Manor. At some point in mid-1300s DR, Volo made a deal with Justin Tym, then just an entrepreneurial print shop owner and purveyor of pornography based in Waterdeep. Tym agreed to publish Volo's books with an option clause for exclusive rights, and each man thought he'd gotten the better of the other. Nevertheless, it would be a successful partnership, albeit with one catastrophic beginning…Volo's Guide to Outraging Mages
“What a pretentious title. Not even I would dare to pen something that purported to be a guide to all things magical. Volo did not even try. What he foisted upon Faerûnians hungry for enough secrets of magic to make them rulers of the Realms was a grab bag full of odds and ends about the Art…”Volothamp Geddarm first came to prominence when he published the infamous first version of Volo's Guide to All Things Magical early in the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, and in doing so angered many of Faerûn's mages. While Volo purported to explain magic "for the common people" and to be honest and straightforward, it included a great many spells that had been thought long forgotten and so revealed these to folk across Faerûn. Several mighty mages, who would rather these spells had stayed forgotten, confronted Volo over this. Worse still, it contained dangerous errors and exaggerations in magical knowledge that could lead to uncontrolled summoned outsiders and the destruction of Toril, among others, as well as completely true facts that only the magically educated should know, in the view of those mages and priests who were so educated. The wizards who felt that Volo had exposed their secrets—favored spells, command words, and truenames, as well as their failings and misdeeds—via the book actively sought to punish the man, and some succeeded. One sorceress of Telflamm, Catanarla the Crimson Cloaked, threatened to transform Volo into some helpless form and magically subject him to unending torment and agony enough for him to wish for death but never find it. Snilloc was more specific, saying, with a smile, that Volo would spend "most of eternity as a dung beetle crushed under a rock at the bottom of a cesspool" and only afterward lose his head. Others threatened him with the old classic of turning him into a toad, or merely drove him out of town. Thankfully, Elminster Aumar, the Sage of Shadowdale, and Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun of Waterdeep rescued Volo from too terrible or permanent a fate, but still gave him up for their own entertainment to the Simbul, the Witch-Queen of Aglarond. She was more amused by the commotion caused by the hapless writer, so she only transformed Volo into a bird and made him fly into a wall as a punishment. The Witch-Queen dispensed some other magical chastisement on the writer, including burning all his hair off, and worse—only as an example of what would happen if he tried such unauthorized reporting again, of course. Yet, in the end, she gifted him an enchanted etched stone with a sly smile. The Simbul told Volo in a soft voice that his survival might depend on the stone's magic. She also warned him that were he ever foolish enough to anger every spellcaster on Toril again, no trinket would be enough to save his hide. Volo was also subjected to quite a number of curses that would be triggered if he ever looked too deeply into ways of exposing the secrets of magic ever again. He would not speak of these, but vowed he would be "a very good boy where dealings with wizards are concerned for a long time to come." Nevertheless, the whole affair left him forced to be always on the move to avoid his foes. He could also never again go to another Mage Fair, either. Meanwhile, the book was suppressed by all powerful wizards, including Khelben. Although Elminster claimed to have nothing to do this, he supported it wholeheartedly. Yet Elminster himself undertook to lead a thorough hunt for every single copy of Volo's Guide to All Things Magical, with the aid of many of the mages who'd happened to see it. All the copies were duly burned, though false rumors persisted of one or two remaining and Elminster retained one himself. Reputedly, every copy disappeared, without even a word of refund for production costs or lost revenue, and it nearly ended Tym Waterdeep Limited as a company. Finally, Elminster prevailed on Volo to see the error of his ways. Elminster later described the book as "misguided' and said that Volo "should leave dabbling in Art to those who know better." Nevertheless, the revealed spells remained known to the magical community, and even entered common use.
Volo's Guides to the Realms, Allegedly
“This guidebook is the result of extensive, often hazardous explorations of the City of Splendors, most colorful city of the Sword Coast. It is the dream of many folk across Faerûn to someday visit this fabled, bustling marketplace and grandest of abodes. This tome attempts to steer visitors to sights and folk they want to see—or avoid.”In response to all this, Volo naturally switched his focus to his secondary interest—writing travel guides documenting Faerûn. But once again, he would not enjoy immediate success. The earliest known, Volo's Guide to the Moonsea, written over 1357 and 1358 DR, was similarly suppressed, now by the Zhentarim. His next works, Volo's Guide to the Vast, written from 1358 to 1360 DR, and Volo's Guide to the Bloodstone Lands, written from 1360 to 1362 DR, also went unreleased. Meanwhile, Volo's Guide to Westgate and the Dragon Coast was written some time in the early 1360s DR on commission by a noble of Yhaunn, Sembia, so it remained in private ownership. Continuing a theme, Volo's Guide to Calimport was written over 1364 and 1365 DR but all final drafts were destroyed by Calishite pashas and Rundeen agents and only notes and an old draft remained. One of his first travel guides to see publication was Volo's Guide to the Frozenfar, published in 1364 DR. Next was Volo's Guide to Waterdeep detailing the City of Splendors, written over 1363 DR to 1365 DR. After checking and editing it carefully, Elminster conceded that Volo had "done a better job" on it, compared to All Things Magical, but that he had missed much and got a few things very wrong too. Volo himself admitted it was limited, as he could not go everywhere, nor reveal everything. Nevertheless, it notably exposed the Hanging Lantern festhall as a front for a kidnapping operation by the Unseen when Volo casually mentioned that all the courtesans were in fact doppelgangers. Although a significant setback for the Unseen and putting Volo on the doppelgangers' hit list should he ever wander into Waterdeep again, it only increased interest in the establishment. This unwilling yet fruitful writing partnership continued with Volo's next few works, with Volo's Guide to the North written over 1365 to 1366 DR, Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast written over 1366 and 1367 DR, Volo's Guide to Cormyr written over 1367 to 1368 DR, Volo's Guide to the Dalelands written over 1368 to 1369 DR, and Volo's Guide to the Lands of Intrigue, written over 1369 to 1370 DR. These would all made it to publication. At some point, Volo helped foil a conspiracy by the Unseen and their leader the doppelganger Hlaavin that apparently threatened all Faerûn. He thought that Khelben Arunsun would owe him one after that.<refBrian Thomsen (1995). Once Around the Realms. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-7869-0119-5.</ref>
Volo's Guide to Trying Again
In the late 1360s DR, Volo returned to Waterdeep, where he had a meeting with Justin Tym to discuss business and future plans. Justin pressed Volo for forthcoming works. Volo promised he was working on Volo's Guide to the Moonsea and would soon journey to Mulmaster for research. Instead, he offered up his magnum opus once again: Volo's Guide to All Things Magical, the Revised, Authorized, & Expanded Edition. This time, he claimed to use only secondhand sources: interviews, legends, and stories, all documented, verifiable, and publicly available, with no stolen secrets (not that he admitted to having used any the first time around) and the people involved granting signed permission. After renegotiating his advances, Volo left the manuscript with "Tym"—in fact the doppelganger Hlaavin, who burned it all in the fireplace and had Volo banned from the publishing house, as only the beginnings of its revenge against him. In any case, after "due passage of time" (a decade), Elminster had now agreed that a new Volo's Guide to All Things Magical should be published, if only to prevent people searching in vain for the original version. From his own last-remaining copy, Elminster corrected, edited, and censored the work and released a new version in 1367 DR. Then he destroyed his own last copy of the original. Later, Volo visited the War Wizard club in Cormyr, braving the price on his head in that kingdom at the time to handle some business before he departed again for the Dalelands. While there, Elminster arrived and introduced Volo to his would-be apprentice Presto to give him a potted geography lesson. After they left, Ed Greenwood and Julia Martin arrived and pressured Volo to give up the manuscript of the new All Things Magical for publication on Earth, despite his fears of being turned into a toad, insisting they would clear it with Elminster later. Left alone, poor Volo contemplated life as a toad.Volo's Guide to Identity Theft
Ironically, the next great scandal in Volo's life was one he was entirely innocent of, apparently. In the Year of the Shield, 1367 DR, a Waterdhavian thief named Marcus Wands, a.k.a. Marco Volo (a pseudonym he adopted to sound more appealing to women), stole from the mad wizard Sabbas a powerful artifact called the Dragonking's Eye and framed Volo for the crime, by simply sending to Sabbas an anonymous note blaming Volothamp Geddarm. After the All Things Magical affair, it seemed plausible and the wizard fell for it completely, but the plan backfired—Sabbas decided local thief Marco Volo was the real Volothamp Geddarm in disguise! He announced a 10,000 gold piece (layer 20,000) reward for Volo's capture or death, and hired mage-assassin Felibarr Blacklance to hunt him down, setting him on the trail of Volothamp, that is, "Marco Volo", that is, Marcus Wands. At first, Volo remained entirely unwitting of all this. With several bounties on his head, this was just one more. But after escaping assassination attempts, he couldn't help but take notice. When he realized the description did not fit him and he was not the real target, this time, he began to look into it, With his own well-honed investigative skills, he realized who "Marco Volo" really was—Marcus Wands, of the Wands noble family of Waterdeep—and spoke with the family patriarch Maskar Wands. As much as Maskar disliked Volothamp and his work, he agreed to help for the sake of his nephew. Volo used his contacts to track down Marcus and the adventurers, mainly following the chaos in their wake. He also spoke to Elminster and learned of the Dragonking's Eye. He caught up with them in the Spiderhaunt Woods in Shadowdale and at the crystalline fortress created by the Dragonking's Eye finally confronted Marcus Wands. Understandably angry at having yet another wizard after him, he demanded explanations and threatened a beating, before agreeing to share what he knew of the Eye and even help Marcus and the adventurers shut it down. He would even get a chance to try to interview the deities Tyr, Sune, and Corellon Larethian when they showed up to recapture the released Dragonking.Volo's Guide to Getting Lucky
In the Year of the Banner, 1368 DR, Volo was visiting the city of Elturel where he engaged in a table dice game with a severe-looking northern barbarian. Coincidentally, exactly at that time, the goddess of luck Tymora was affected by Iyachtu Xvim's plot to steal the powers of both her and her sister Beshaba. The luck powers of the goddess began running rampant through Faerûn. Volo's game was affected and he rolled doubles eight times, driving his opponent into a blind rage, who angrily ordered him to continue. With tears of terror in his eyes, Volo couldn't help but keep rolling doubles but finally escaped the livid barbarian by flinging the dice cup into his face and running for his life through the streets of Elturel. He prayed to Tymora, wondering why she'd wasted so much good luck on him. By now, Volo and his guides were well known, enough for Joel to joke, on encountering a barghest, "I seem to have misplaced my Volo's guide to Gehenna." Volothamp Geddarm himself was a famous, much-talked-about figure all around Faerûn by 1369 DR. After this, Volo dared to return to writing about magic, with Volo's Guide to Rhyming Incantations published in 1371 DR. Volo's Guide to Magic also appeared—or at least its Appendix III did, being found ripped out of the larger work as of 1374 DR.Volo's Guide to Snakes & Shipwrecks
The Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR was marked with a voyage for the now legendary (and infamous) Volothamp Geddarm. He boarded the Vigilant, traveling from Crossroad Keep on the Sword Coast North to the hidden nation of Samarach on the Chultan Peninsula. However, multiple strange occurrences took place during the voyage. At one point, Volo was sitting to dine on a bowl of ship's soup but became distracted by a pod of dolphins. When he returned to his meal, the bowl was snatched by one of the Vigilant's crew members. The soup had apparently gone bad, and the poisoning killed the sailor instead, saving Volo's life. The streak of bad luck culminated in a fierce storm that shipwrecked the Vigilant on the Samarach shore. Luckily, Volo survived, along with a handful of passengers. Soon after reaching land, the survivors were accosted by bands of local ravenous Batiri goblins. Confident in his diplomacy and knowledge of the Goblin language, Volo attempted a negotiation. Needless to say, a bloody battle followed, with the survivors emerging victorious. Subsequently, the survivors were escorted to the city of Samargol by a patrol Samarach's Elite Guards. Despite the city being closed to most foreigners, Volo's business partner, local merchant Sa'Sani, vouched for the writer and promptly hired other survivors as members of her business, allowing them entrance to the City of Veils. While in Samargol, Volo collected lore on the exotic jungle nation that later was collected and printed as Volo's Guide to the Serpent Kingdoms. Along with adventurers, Volo became entangled in a clandestine plot of the yuan-ti House Se'Sehen to take over Faerûn through infiltration of merchant companies. When one of Sa'Sani's aides was exposed as a yuan-ti pureblood, the group, along with Volo, was forced to flee Samarach through the hidden Lantan-Samarach portal back to the Sword Coast. As a gesture of a personal gratitude, Volo gifted the adventurers his rejuvenating ring. Afterward, Volo joined Sa'Sani and the adventurers in Crossroad Keep, from where he continued work on his guides and conducted research into cult and bandit activities. Volo remained in Crossroad Keep until the snake cultists of Zehir were stopped, their plans of domination thwarted. Later, Volo diversified his interests further, publishing Volo's Guide to Good Rulership in 1377 DR.Volo's Guide to Skipping Ahead
Whilst working on his guide to Cormyr circa 1367 DR, Volo had speculated so rampantly about the mysterious mages known as the Sword Heralds that Elminster declared "We fix that, or this book gets renamed forthwith: Volo's Guide to the Effects of an Imprisonment Spell on the Victim, Written from Personal Experience." For whatever reason, Elminster eventually made good on this threat and trapped Volo in an imprisonment spell, in a state of stasis, as punishment for whatever he'd done this time. Conveniently, Volo was still caught like this when the Spellplague struck in the Year of Blue Fire, 1385 DR. With him being one of Mystra's Weave anchors, the magic fortunately did not go awry, injure him, or end prematurely. Unfortunately, he remained trapped in this state for decades, unageing and unaware of the world that moved far beyond what he'd written of in his guides. Following his release, he was later informed by Elminster about the events of the Spellplague and the transference of parts of Abeir and Toril, though Volo scarcely understood the explanations.Volo's Guide to Being a Successful Author at Last
After his return, Volo was hired by his rival Randilus Qelver to explore the valley of Barovia for a commission of 99 golden dragons. He escaped imprisonment in the demiplane by using a charm given to him by Elminster. At some point, he wrote the chapbook Volo's Waterdeep Enchiridion, a short visitor's guide to the City of Splendors intended to cover a gap in the market until a new and updated edition of Volo's Guide to Waterdeep could be released. It was again published by Tym Waterdeep Limited, with the aid of the Fellowship of Innkeepers and the Fellowship of Carters and Coachmen, and had the approval of Open Lord Laeral Silverhand. At this time, Volo enjoyed the patronage of the Melshimber noble family and had procured the services of a solicitor, Abricade Fellswop. He charged 7 copper nibs for an autograph. Volo's Guide to Waterdeep was eventually reprinted, and Volo was selling them, and loaning them, to visitors on the streets of Waterdeep as of around 1486 DR. Sometime in the late 1480s or early 1490s DR, Volo journeyed to Port Nyanzaru in Chult in order to promote his new book, Volo's Guide to Monsters. He arranged audiences with the seven merchant princes of the city to deliver autographed hardcover copies to them, and of course visited inns and taverns to share stories and sell books for 50 gp each. He gladly shared the latest rumors, advice, and information he'd overheard since arriving in town to any travelers and adventurers he met, and some of it was even true. Following his successful promotional tour, he returned to Waterdeep to take a break and to start working on his next book, Volo's Guide to Spirits and Specters, while he waited for royalty payments for his previous book, Volo's Guide to Monsters, which left him short on coin. However, he struggled on Spirits and Specters, not least because his knowledge of the ghostly variety of spirit was far surpassed by his knowledge of the alcoholic. While pondering it, he passed many of his free hours in the taproom of the Yawning Portal and catching up with friends and old friends. Soon after his return, in the Year of Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR, an acquaintance of his named Floon Blagmaar went missing, possibly kidnapped, following a night of carousing with Volo at the Skewered Dragon tavern. To find him, Volo would hire adventurers at the Yawning Portal, choosing a group that just survived a tavern brawl. They rescued both Floon and Renaer Neverember and, in lieu of the promised payment he could not actually provide, Volo offered the deed to Trollskull Manor, a former tavern and residence in the North Ward. Reputed to be haunted, Volo had purchased the property for research material. Much later, Volo may have come cap in hand to the successful adventurers to ask for funding for his next expedition. Subsequently, while relaxing at the Yawning Portal, Volo would buy drinks for other adventurers who planned to venture into Undermountain and related tales of the great dungeon. These included the legend of the lost throne of Coronal Syglaeth Audark, last ruler of Illefarn; if rediscovered, he would tell elven friends about it. He could also introduce adventurers to Captain Jalester Silvermane of the City Watch. Sometime in the 1490s DR, still in Waterdeep, Volo frequented the Halfway Inn. There, he encountered a halfling rogue recruited by Open Lord Laeral Silverhand herself into the rescue mission for her pet baby griffin kidnapped by the Xanathar's Thieves' Guild. Volo aided the little thief by pointing him towards Skullport where the guild operated from and gave some advice on how to safely get there. Sometime before that, he has authored a book about adventuring and dungeon delving, Dungeonology. In the Year of Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR, Volo traveled to the Emerald Grove in the Western Heartlands in order to study the unique behavior of a certain group of goblins. He was subsequently captured by these goblins, who were members of the Cult of the Absolute, and taken to their headquarters at a nearby temple of Selûne, which at least gave him a closer look at his subjects. He even worked on his new book, On Goblins: My Life Among the Conquering Host, with his hastily scribbled notes seized by Booyagh Piddle, who wondered what Volo's description of them as "obstreperous" and "malodorous" meant. Volo's fate is as yet unconfirmed; he may have been rescued by adventurers, or else left in the goblins' clutches. In the late 1490s DR, a portrait of Volothamp Geddarm was instrumental in an attempted robbery of the Castle Never vaults in Neverwinter by thieves Edgin Darvis, Holga Kilgor, Simon, and Doric.Volo's Undated Misadventures
In one instance, he used his Volo's snatch spell to hurriedly dress himself, albeit in lingerie, while escaping a paramour's husband through a shop.Notable Works
Bibliography
- Dungeonology: an adventurer's guide to adventuring.
- On Goblins: My Life Among the Conquering Host: an all-encompassing guide to goblin society.
- Volo's Big Book of Space: a work covering spelljamming.
- Volo's Complete Guide to the Behaviour of Nymphs: a reluctantly unpublished work, deemed "too naughty" by Elminster, that eventually saw the light of day as a chapbook under Volo's pen name of "Valhalaeria the Vaunted" (used for more salacious works).
- Volo's Guide to All Things Magical: first written c. 1356 DR and rewritten with the help of Elminster in 1367 DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Bloodstone Lands: written 1360–1362 DR but unreleased and held by an unknown party.
- Volo's Guide to Calimport: written 1364–1365 DR but all final drafts were destroyed by Calishite pashas and Rundeen agents and only notes and an old draft remained.
- Volo's Guide to Cormyr: written 1367–1368 DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Dalelands: written 1368–1369 DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Frozenfar: published 1364 DR.
- Volo's Guide to Good Rulership: published 1377 DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Lands of Intrigue: written 1369–1370 DR with an abridged version released by Elminster.
- Volo's Guide to Magic, Appendix III: published before 1374 DR.
- Volo's Guide to Monsters: a treatise on monster lore, with annotations and comments by Elminster, published sometime in the late 1480s or early 1490s DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Moonsea: written 1357–1358 DR but unreleased and suppressed by the Zhentarim.
- Volo's Guide to the North: written 1365–1366 DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Planes: A work consisting of several volumes covering both the Inner and Outer Planes. A revised edition was also available.
- Volo's Guide to Rhyming Incantations: published 1371 DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Serpent Kingdoms: written 1374 DR, after Volo's visit to Samarach.
- Volo's Guide to Spirits and Specters: an unfinished book that lacked substantial information about insubstantial supernatural beings.
- Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast: written over 1366/1367 DR.
- Volo's Guide to the Vast, written 1358–1360 DR, but unreleased with the original held by a resident of Ravens Bluff.
- Volo's Guide to Waterdeep: written 1363–1365 DR.
- Volo's Guide to Westgate and the Dragon Coast: written 1360–1362 DR or 1362–1363 DR on commission by a noble of Yhaunn.
- Volo's Waterdeep Enchiridion: a chapbook designed to be a visitor's guide to Waterdeep. It was expected to serve the reader until Volo's Guide to Waterdeep, long out of print, was updated and re-released.
- Wyrms of the North: a chapbook surveying some of the more prominent dragons of the Sword Coast.
Spells
Volo's snatch
Volo's snatch was a spell that could pick up and fly items to the caster's hand. Effects This spell allowed to caster to pick an item within sight, no larger than their own fist in size, and fling it from a distance towards their own hand. It could not break loose items secured by chains, rings, or hasps. History Volothamp Geddarm, the inventor of the spell, mostly used this spell to steal tarts, though he occasionally used it to get out of sticky situations by obtaining keys, weapons, or tools. In one instance, he used Volo's snatch to hurriedly dress himself in lingerie while escaping a paramour's husband through a shop. Although Volothamp hadn't spread Volo's snatch around, several other spellcasters were inspired to devise their own equivalent spells, though these were generally flawed in some way compared to the original.Volo's soft landing
Volo's soft landing was a simple protective arcane spell created by Volothamp Geddarm, Master Traveler of the Realms, sometime before the late 15 century DR. Effects The effects of this cantrip were similar to the feather fall spell but could only be applies to a single fall or descent of a single item (including a chain of attached items). Such descent could not excess the length of the caster's forearm. As such, Volo's soft landing was a spell used to quietly drop an item that, otherwise, would make a noticeable sound, like a dagger, or a keychain. The spell's subject was selected via touch during the casting and its magic remained active for five minutes. Components Volo's soft landing required verbal, somatic, and material components to be cast. The material component was any sort of lightweight floating plant seed or pappus, such as fluffy dandelion or milkweed seeds.Volo's flatus nullifier
Volo's flatus nullifier was a simple air-clearing arcane spell created by Volothamp Geddarm, Master Traveler of the Realms, sometime before the late 15 century DR. Effects When cast, the spell removed strong spells of any foul gas within 10 feet (3 meters) from the caster. After being cast, the spell continually cleared the air around the caster for one minute and moved with them. As the spellcaster grew in arcane power the Volo's flatus nullifier extended its duration. The spell affected such stenches as strong perfumes, skunk sprays, flatuses, and other similar aromas. Components Volo's flatus nullifier required verbal, somatic, and material components to be cast.Other Creations
For his guidebooks, Volo developed his own ratings system, which assessed a locale's quality (ranked by number of pipes for an inn or tankards for a tavern), price (by number of coins), and even safety (by number of daggers).
Merchant (general goods) travels, last seen in Kampos
Character Location
Current Location
Last seen near River's Keep
Current Status
Traveling vendor
Current Location
Species
Conditions
Ethnicity
Year of Birth
1975 KC
48 Years old
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
brown
Hair
short curly brown, moustach and beard
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
slight tan
Height
5'
Weight
185 lbs.
Belief/Deity