One of the most universally hated missions in Baldur’s Gate 3 this is to help Oskar Fevras recover from his possession. It’s a quest that technically starts in Act One, when players can help the troubled artist escape the Zhentarim beneath Waukeen’s Rest. But the real trouble doesn’t begin until Act Three, when players arrive at the Jannath family estate and find the place haunted. Oskar is engaged to the owner of the house, but his obsession with his former love has caused her ghost to take over the entire mansion.
The mission itself is quite interesting, but completing it requires the player’s party to navigate one of the most frustrating and tedious areas in the gamefull of invisible ghosts and painful traps. It’s so bad that many players will simply skip the mission rather than save Oskar to get their reward. But there are some tactics that can improve the experience and make helping this tortured painter a less torturous experience.
What needs to be done to complete the mission?
Doing the minimum to save Oskar
The first thing to recognize about the quest to free Oskar is that it’s not necessary to explore most of the Jannath estate while it’s still haunted. There will be time after the mission to loot the gold and equipment, so there is no need to search each room to open the various chests and safes. The easiest way to do this quest involves heading straight to the only rooms that need to be visited to complete it: the bedroom, where Mrs. Jannath and the possessed Oskar are, and the studio on the top floor.
If players have already recovered the Torch of Revocation, they can immediately go to the atelier and burn the painting. This will skip the first part of the quest and potentially reduce the time it takes, although it does require some level of meta-gaming.
The first stop should be the room, where players will discover that Oskar is possessed and begin this part of the quest. The next stop is the studio for find Oskar’s cursed painting, which must be burned using the Torch of Revocationobtained from the Mystic Carrion, who needs the player’s help to kill Thrumbo in another mission. Finally, players will need to return to the room to face Oskar. Since parts of the mansion can be accessed from the outside by flying up to the balcony, it is possible to skip many of the rooms beyond these two essentials.
Avoiding the traps and tortured souls in Jannath’s estate
Avoid as many rooms as possible
Unfortunately, there are some rooms that you have to navigate, and these rooms are full of ghosts and ghostly traps. Poltergeist enemies move invisibly through hallways, Vengeful and Tortured Souls hide inside chandeliers to inflict harmful spells on passersby, and Cursed Skulls sit near stairs to fling characters back down if they end their turn too close. There are different strategies for dealing with each of these dangers.
Cursed Skulls are weak to force and bludgeoning damage, so a warlock with 
supernatural explosion
or a monk with his unarmed attacks can finish them off quickly while moving ahead of the rest of the group. Poltergeists have disadvantage on dexterity saving throws while invisible, striking large areas with 
fireball
and 
cone of cold
can catch them in the explosion. And chandeliers, although irritating with their harmful effects, are best ignored, since attacking them will spawn an enemy that can be even more annoying to deal with.
Defeating the ghosts and saving Oscar
Come to this mission prepared
The best and most consistent strategy for completing this mission is to start by flying to the balcony after already obtaining the Torch of Revocation from Mystic Carrion. Players may also want take an Invisibility Seeing Potion or replace your eye with the version Volo offers after letting him try to remove Tav’s eye. This will allow them to see Poltergeists and deal with them directly. Go up the stairs and talk to Jannath, then continue up, blasting the skulls along the way.
Having the highest speed possible can allow players to get past the ghosts, as it is not necessary to beat them all to finish the mission. Things like the Illithid Fly power, Boots of Speed, or spells like hurry can make this area much more navigable.
Eventually, after reaching and destroying the painting, the group can return to the room and let the ghost kill Oscar or defend him from it. Finally, after all this, any remaining spirits will be removed from the house and players will be free to loot it as much as they want. They might even get Oscar to paint them if he survives. In short, although the execution of this area leaves a lot to be desired, Baldur’s Gate 3 always offers ways to make areas easier to traverse.