Oscar

"I love Crimea, but I'm happy here. I want to serve Ike as a member of the Greil Mercenaries."

- Oscar talking to Kieran in a support conversation

Oscar (オスカー Osukā) is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. He is a former member of the Crimean Royal Knights 12th Regiment with Kieran, and is the older brother of Boyd and Rolf. In a support conversation he shares with Janaff in Path of Radiance, Oscar is revealed to be about 24 years old or so.

Path of Radiance
Formerly a member of the 12th Regiment of the Crimean Royal Knights, Oscar was Kieran's rival, but resigned in order to care for his brothers after his father's death. Despite the huge sacrifice he has made, however, he struggled to make ends meet, as he was unable to make enough money to support the growing needs of his brothers.

Taking pity on Oscar's plight, Greil later recruits the brothers into the Greil Mercenaries, providing them with both a stable job and a roof over their heads.

When Greil later passes on, Oscar steps in to back Ike up as the new leader of the company, providing him with the solace and support he needs in order to live up to his father's name.

Oscar will remain with Ike's forces until the Mad King Ashnard is defeated, whereupon he will continue to be an integral member of the Greil Mercenaries.

Radiant Dawn
Oscar returns in this game as a member of the Greil Mercenaries, where he is observed to play a major role in rescuing Lucia from her untimely fate. He, alongside the mercenaries, later proceeds to assist the Laguz Alliance in Laguz-Begnion War waged against Begnion.

In Chapter 3-1, Oscar will be able to meet Rolf's biological mother when he visits a particular house in this chapter. Upon recognizing her, he will leave abruptly, ignoring her pleas for him to return.

Rolf's mother will then trespass into the encampment of the Laguz Alliance in the preceding chapter, and is saved from being captured by Oscar and Boyd. Boyd promptly gets into a heated confrontation with her, revealing the fact that she had abandoned her entire family in order to elope with an external lover. Being the compassionate individual that he is, Oscar will then attempt to get Rolf to meet her. Rolf will refuse to do so almost immediately, asserting that the only true family that he has is that of the Greil Mercenaries. Touched by the strong words of his brother, Oscar will then get her to leave the encampment.

Spared from the merciless judgment of Ashera, Oscar is a possible candidate to be brought into the Tower of Guidance.

When the game later reaches its conclusion, Oscar will enlist into the Crimean Army as a Royal Knight once again, but still does mercenary work on the sideline.

Personality
Oscar is characterized by a rful, calm, and polite disposition, and is rather tolerant to the antics of people around him. This may be observed through his relationship with Kieran, where Oscar either tries his best to ignore Kieran's passionate outbursts on the supposed rivalry that they share, or attempt to reason out some of his more exaggerated claims. In a support conversation Oscar shares with Kieran, for instance, Kieran proclaims that Oscar beat him "by the smallest of margins" in a certain horse race. When Oscar recalls the actual distance to be of "at least three lengths", he finds himself accused of being a "deceitful, lying, squinting coward".

Oscar is also renowned for being a good cook, and enjoys receiving feedback on his culinary skills. This may be observed in a support conversation he shares with Ike, where he readily agrees to prepare meals to satiate Ike's hunger.

Oscar appears to fear the Laguz race, specifically that of the Bird tribes. This may be observed through his support conversations with Janaff, where he has been shown to lose his composure when addressing Janaff, causing him to speak in a halting and hesitant tone. This has resulted in him being rather tactless, going so far as to mistake Janaff for being a "small kid", unintentionally enraging him in the process.

Recruitment

 * Chapter 1: Automatically from the start.

Growth Rates

 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 20%
 * 50%
 * 45%
 * 30%
 * 35%
 * 30%
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Support Conversations

 * Ike
 * Kieran
 * Janaff
 * Tanith

Promotional Gains
Promotion to Paladin * Depends on the choice made by the player.
 * HP: +3
 * Strength: +2
 * Magic: +2
 * Skill: +2
 * Speed: +2
 * Defense: +2
 * Resistance: +3
 * Con: +1
 * Move: +1
 * Cap: +5
 * E FE9 Sword.png / FE9 Axe.png / FE9 Bow.png Rank*

Overall
Oscar has good base stats for his starting level, and like most other Abel-type characters, excels in Speed and Skill growths.

Alongside his decent Defense, Oscar is thus a viable choice to be placed on the front lines without the constant need to have his HP recovered. While his Strength is not as high as his Skill or Speed, it is usually sufficient enough for him to remain as a useful unit throughout the entire duration of the game.

When Oscar promotes into a Paladin, it is recommended to select Bows as his second weapon of choice, as this will essentially allow him, alongside his brothers, to initiate the infamous Triangle Attack. However, if either Boyd or Rolf are not being used, than Oscar can forgo Bows in favor of Swords, which will allow him to turn the tables against the axe user that would normally have an advantage against him.

Availability
◎=Forced ○=Available □=Available for selected
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Growth Rates

 * 50%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * 65%
 * 60%
 * 55%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * }

Bond Support

 * Boyd: 10%
 * Rolf: 10%

Promotional Gains
Promotion to Silver Knight
 * HP: +4
 * Strength: +2
 * Magic: +4
 * Skill: +2
 * Speed: +2
 * Defense: +2
 * Resistance: +4
 * Con: +0
 * Move: +0
 * C FE10 Bow.gif Rank
 * Sol.png Sol skill

Overall
Oscar is the easiest potential Silver Knight to train, as he can be Promoted as early as Chapters 3-8 and 3-9. However, Oscar has some key flaws that hold him back from his true potential. Lances tend to be geared towards fighting Sword Generals and Swordmasters, neither of which Oscar can effectively defeat in one round, either due to not having enough strength or speed. Meanwhile, Titania joins at the same time as Oscar, can promote earlier, and can deal with Horseback and Wyverns better than Oscar can. Thus, Oscar tends to fall in the shadows of Titania.

However, Oscar still has some merits. As a Silver Knight, Oscar's speed can give him better luck against armored units, and can inflict more damage upon them, especially with the threat of his new Sol skill. In addition, he can also attack the opponent while still staying off the frontlines if need be. His stats are still okay, meaning that he can still be used to a degree of success when trained correctly. Overall, while Oscar is not the most consistent unit, he is still a usable asset to one's team.

Death/Retreat Quotes
"The enemy was better... it seems... Boyd... Ro...Rolf..."

- Oscar's death quote in Path of Radiance.

"These enemies... They're too powerful... Help me... Boyd... R-Rolf..."

- Oscar's death quote in Radiant Dawn.

Etymology
Oscar's name is the Middle English form of the Anglo-Saxon 'Osgar', the roots of which come from the old English elements 'os' and 'gar', meaning god and spear respectively, leading to "god spear", that being relevant to his class.
 * Oscar's name also means "deer lover" and comes from the famous mythical warrior son of Níamh Chinn Óir and Oisín, who were themselves a goddess and famous warrior respectively in Irish Mythology. He was also the grandson of Fionn mac Cumhaill, who was also a warrior, and of Manannán mac Lir, the Irish sea god.

Path of Radiance
"What a long road we've traveled! And yet, in many ways, it seemed to pass so quickly. I'm glad it's finally over."

A Support with Ike
“What a long road we’ve traveled! And yet, in many ways, it seemed to pass so quickly. I’m proud to have fought beside you, Ike.”

Radiant Dawn
Oscar returned to the Royal Knights at Queen Elincia's request, but still took mercenary work on the side.
 * Agile Horseman (柔の騎士 Yawara no kishi, lit. Soft Knight)