Reaching the Zhentarim Hideout will reveal certain characters and one of these is Oskar Fevras, who has been captured by the Zhentarim.
Oskar Fevras is a famous painter from Baldur’s Gate but is now a victim of trafficking who is claimed to be owned by Brem.
Upon speaking to Brem he tells you that his pet artist can make you a portrait, who directs you to speak to him if you want to have one done.
How To Free Oskar?
After speaking with Oskar, he begs you to help him, and this results in you needing to speak with Brem to buy the painter. (You get the quest called Free The Artist)
Oskar will consider your offer to buy Oskar and will offer the painter for 1,000 Gold but you can pass an Ability Check to change things around.
Passing the Persuasion or Intimidation Check will lower the gold cost to 600 but you can also resort to killing the Zhentarim if you don’t have the Gold on you.
Once your transaction with Brem is complete, you may speak to Oskar to let him go but he will ask for 200 Gold to get by. (This is not required)
If you plan on fighting the Zhentarim to free Oskar, it might be best to make sure that you have saved Rugan and Olly to gain access to Brem’s Secret Shop.
Will You Meet Oskar in Baldur’s Gate?
Once Oskar is set free, he mentions to come see him once you are in Baldur’s Gate and this will happen when you reach Act III.
The thing is, Oskar runs into more trouble in Act III and will need your help again, which affects his fate once you progress.
You will encounter Oskar later if you have set him free but if he remains with the Zhentarim, you won’t be seeing him in Act III.
Verdict
Some may feel that freeing Oskar may be beneficial later, but this mainly results in you getting a portrait that you previously were going to ask for after speaking to Brem.
Once you meet Oskar in Act III, there will be more rescue needed and this can later prove to be quite the challenge.
Other players prefer to avoid helping Oskar in other playthroughs as the rewards are not always worth it but if you love being the hero, you can go for it if you please to do so.