Beyond the Beef

Beyond the Beef is a side quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

Synopsis
Well known brahmin rancher Heck Gunderson asks the Courier to track down his son Ted, who has disappeared in the Ultra-Luxe Casino Hotel. Ted was kidnapped by agents of Mortimer of the White Glove Society, in an attempt to return the White Glove Society to cannibalism.

Warning: This quest is tied to Pheeble Will. If choosing the vengeful way to kill Heck Gunderson and/or his son, depending on your choices, it is possible to fail one of the two quests.

Detailed walkthrough
In the Ultra-Luxe casino you'll find Heck Gunderson, a wealthy brahmin baron, sitting at the bar and upset about his missing son. After questioning the purpose of his visit, you can offer assistance in finding his son, Ted Gunderson. Then go talk with Marjorie, one of the managers of the Ultra-Luxe Casino & Hotel, located at the Gourmand restaurant and learn that a bride went missing in the hotel, which is damaging their reputation. At some point in the conversation she will inform you that the White Glove Society were cannibals, but this practice is now forbidden. You have the option to tell her that you are a cannibal too, as a lie (unless you have the Cannibal perk), which does not impress her and will lead to White Glove Society infamy.

After you inform her that you are looking for another man, much to her disbelief, she will tell you to find the other manager, Mortimer. When talking to Mortimer you have several options.
 * You can lie, with a Speech of 62, or use the cannibal perk, to tell him that you are a cannibal too (no infamy gained), he will be euphoric and explain his plan to return the White Glove Society to cannibalism, by killing or arranging a substitute for Ted Gunderson.
 * You can just ask him directly if you have evil Karma and non-neutral Strip reputation.
 * You can follow Marjorie's advice and ask him about an investigator searching for clues about a missing bride in the hotel.

Working with Mortimer
Mortimer is very displeased that the Society is denying their basic impulses and wishes the return of the old practices. For this, he will arrange a banquet in which members will be served meals prepared with human flesh. For this purpose he arranged a kidnapping, but the victim was able to escape. Having to find a substitute at the last minute, those loyal to him kidnapped Ted Gunderson, son of Heck Gunderson, a very powerful brahmin baron.

Mortimer wants to get rid of Ted in a way that doesn't leave any suspicion of the Ultra-Luxe; or, if it's not possible, kill Ted and use him as a meal, framing his father for the death. If you want to spare Ted's life you have to provide a substitute for the banquet, which can be one of your human companions if you give this suggestion to him or the original victim that was able to escape, Carlyle St. Clair III. Note, that you can't use imitation strange pie for this task. He then will provide keys for the Ultra-Luxe freezer, Gourmand kitchen and Ultra-Luxe Penthouse, as well as a cattle prod.

Return Ted to his father and find a substitute for the banquet

 * If you want to return Ted alive to his father, go to the Gourmand restaurant and use the elevator to go to the basement.
 * A White Glove Society guard will ask what you are doing there. Inform him that Mortimer wishes to get rid of the kid without arousing suspicion if he cooperates, with a 55 speech check.
 * Open the freezer and talk to Ted. You have to lie about the people who did this to him and pass a 38 speech check, indicating that maybe it was some competitors trying to screw his father's negotiation about brahmin with the "White Pants Society" (in Ted's own words).
 * Leave with him through the Gourmand restaurant kitchen. If you try to use the members-only door everyone in the basement will turn hostile (even if you don't open the door).
 * Guide Ted to his father, who will be furious and demand to know who did this to Ted. Lie that you don't know and receive 500 caps from him, as well as some White Glove Society fame.

The next step is to find a substitute for the banquet.

You may either:

Sacrifice one of your human companions by going to the kitchen and locking them in the freezer. This will end the quest. Note: you will lose anything they are carrying.

or:

Travel to Carlyle St. Clair's house and convince Carlyle to go to the Ultra-Luxe, or knock him unconscious and put his body in a dumpster close to his house. His home is located close to Freeside North Entrance; travel to the gate and follow the road between north and northeast in a straight line.

There are many ways to deal with Carlyle St. Clair. You can convince him to go to the Ultra-Luxe with a 65 speech check; if you have the Black Widow perk you can propose to have sex with him in the dumpster; with 45 guns you can pistol-whip him; asking him about himself will reveal he was black-labeled by his family and with a 45 speech you can convince him that the White Glove Society can clean his name; asking about a pain he has in the neck will lead to a 7 Strength, 45 Medicine or 45 Unarmed that will knock him unconscious. If you don't have any of these skills, use a cattle prod that Mortimer provided to you (make sure that your companions are away if not they may accidentally kill him). Drag his body to the dumpster and place him inside. It should be noted that if you have the cannibal perk, devouring him will make you fail the quest.

Go back to Mortimer after dealing with St. Clair, or your companion, and gain 500 XP and a huge boost of Strip and White Glove Society fame. This concludes the quest and the White Glove will return to cannibalism after the 7PM banquet.

ALTERNATIVELY:

You can steal or gain through dialogue a recipe from the head chef, Philippe, that will let you create a human flesh alternative to fool Mortimer and all the White Glove members (55 Barter check will get you his recipe, 55 Medicine check will get you his recipe and the key to the freezer where they're keeping Ted). This will result in Mortimer revealing himself at the banquet without the player having to kill anyone, not even the cook. This is possible if the player can pass a Barter, Medicine or Speech check to get the recipes and remove the cook without having to kill him. Create the dish, and wait until 7 PM for the banquet to begin. Use the intercom to call the head waiter. When the waiter arrives you must either be disguised as a member of the White Glove Society or hidden out of sight, otherwise he will become hostile.

If you plan on freeing Ted and exposing Mortimer, talk to him only after the head waiter has left the room, preferably the area, because he will be hostile if Ted is following you. Use the direct route to the banquet hall, and sneak while you enter, because the White Glove members will be hostile to you. Wait for Mortimer to finish his speech, walk up to him, stand up and quickly talk to him, because otherwise your companions and Ted will attack the bouncer, causing the entire room to become hostile to you (if you find you are unable to avoid this, open the console, click on Ted, and type in "tai" and press Enter. This will disable his AI and prevent him from attacking. Do the same for any companions. Be sure to do it again to re-enable their AI once you have dealt with Mortimer). Expose Mortimer's plan, and talk to Marjorie for your boost to White Glove Society fame. You also gain Strip fame if you persuade (35 Speech) Heck Gunderson not to stop selling brahmin meat to White Glove society.

Kill Ted, and frame his father for the murder
If you want to complete the quest Pheeble Will and receive a very nice reward from both Mortimer and Walter Phebus, killing Ted is advantageous.

Accept the quest from Walter but don't accept any of the barter checks. Go back to the Ultra-Luxe and tell Mortimer that you want to help him (you may have to lie to him). Mortimer will give you a key that lets you enter the kitchen basement. A White Glove Society guard will ask what you are doing, inform him that Mortimer wishes to get rid of the kid. Open the freezer and talk to Ted. You have the option to talk a little or simply tell him that you are finishing what the White Gloves started, which will cause him to turn hostile. After killing Ted, collect a bit of blood and some remains from the corpse to frame his father.

Note: This option is still available if you lie about your intention when agreeing to help Mortimer, but keep in mind that you mustn't agree to help Heck Gunderson find his son when asking what he is doing in the Ultra-Luxe in the quest Pheeble Will or the option to help Mortimer frame Heck will not appear. But even then it is still possible to go with this option by simply going about the quest to help Mortimer and kill Ted anyway, as the quest will simply advance to the part of framing Heck as soon as Ted is dead.

With the false evidence in your inventory, go to the Ultra-Luxe Penthouse. The penthouse can be accessed from an elevator located in a room behind Mortimer's desk. Two bodyguards working for Gunderson, his hired hands patrol the suite and are hostile, but can be killed without Karma penalty. Distribute the blood and remains of Ted in the bed and in the bathroom sink. Then go to the Strip and inform a securitron that a murder happened in the Ultra-Luxe. After making a surreal and mocking speech about the law, the securitron will proceed to arrest Heck Gunderson, who will resist and end up being killed.

Proceed to Mortimer for your reward of 500 XP, Strip and White Glove Society fame, and the result of the White Glove Society returning to cannibalism after the 7PM banquet.

After talking to Mortimer, go back to Walter for an additional reward of 200 XP and 1,500 caps or 110 XP and 400 caps.

Extra info: This method will permit the courier to complete the entire line of tasks in Render Unto Caesar.

Following the Investigator
There is also a way to save Ted and prevent the White Glove Society from returning to cannibalism:

When you talk to Marjorie about the disappearance of Ted, she tells you that an investigator was looking for clues about a missing bride who had stayed at the hotel, then she directs you to Mortimer. After inquiring Mortimer about the investigator, he gives you a key to the investigator's room. If you ask about the White Glove Society's reputation of cannibalism, you have the opportunity to lie with 62 Speech or use the Cannibal perk to tell him that you are also a cannibal. Mortimer will reveal his plan to you and request that you help him. If you agree to help without lying, you will not be able to obtain the note Matchbook from the dead investigator or meet with Chauncey. If you lie about helping, Mortimer will give you the Penthouse key, kitchen key, and freezer key.

Go to the investigator's room, located in the Ultra-Luxe Hotel rooms. You will discover that the investigator is dead. Search his body for the matchbook note, which will tell you that he had a meeting with someone in the Ultra-Luxe steam room at 4PM. Two White Glove Society members will appear and attack with dress canes. After dealing with them, head to the steam room and wait until 4PM.

In the steam room, you will meet Chauncey, a member of the White Glove Society who wants to stop Mortimer from returning to cannibalism. He tells you that a banquet at 7PM will serve a meal made with human flesh and that Mortimer is behind the disappearance of Ted Gunderson. Mortimer's plan is to make a speech telling the White Glove Society what they ate so they will pass the taboo and return to cannibalism.

Chauncey doesn't know where Ted is, but he suspects that he is being held in the Members-Only section of the Ultra-Luxe. Chauncey warns you that if Ted is seen in the hotel, the other members will attack to protect their secret. He gives two suggestions for freeing Ted:
 * You can spike the wine with a Med-X and 25 Medicine to create drugged wine, then escape with Ted while the members are comatose (if you need a Med-X, you can try to find one in a first aid kit, although it is rare. There are three kits in the basement: one in each of the two adjacent basement kitchens, and one in the storage room next to the bathroom).
 * You can cook up a fake meal that will trick Mortimer into exposing himself without corrupting the rest of the White Glove members. According to Chauncey, at the end of Mortimer's speech, you can enter the banquet hall with Ted alive and cause the Society to expel Mortimer.

Chauncey recommends the second approach, since the first would only be a temporary solution, and it would not prevent Mortimer from trying again in the future. Right after you say bye, an assassin will appear and kill Chauncey. Note: Chauncey is scripted to die. Even if you kill the assassin before a single shot is fired against Chauncey, he will still die instantly as if he had been shot.

After dealing with the assassin, proceed to the Gourmand. If your reputation on the Strip is "accepted" or better, Marjorie will sponsor you as a member and give you formal wear and a key to the Members-Only section. Behind the bar is a door to the kitchen that can be lockpicked, or use the key if it was provided by Mortimer earlier (or take the long way from the casino floor to the Members-Only section and through the door behind the bar to the kitchen.)

In the upper level are two White Glove members torching meat with flamers. There are 6 pieces of infected brahmin meat on the counters. Use the elevator or head down the stairs to the basement. There is a White Glove Society member patrolling the hallway. If he sees you and asks what you are doing in the basement, you can lie with 55 Speech and say that Mortimer wants to move the kid, or you can choose a 35 Repair check to convince him that you are a plumber checking for leaks.

Go down the hall and look for the kitchen where the executive chef, Philippe, is located (there is a Recipes - Brahmin Wellington on the counter). To free Ted, you can use either the freezer key or the terminal next to the freezer door (at a loss of Karma,) but you must deal with Philippe first. There are several things that can be done:
 * You can pickpocket Philippe for the note Philippe's recipes and the freezer key.
 * You can kill and loot him. This gains White Glove Society infamy unless it is a stealth kill. You also gain Karma since he is evil.
 * You can antagonize Philippe through dialogue until you have the opportunity for several skill checks. (Note: you can do multiple checks if you talk to him again afterwards.)
 * Speech check: With 55 Speech, you can tell him you saw a Radroach. He will run into the pantry, at which point you can use the terminal to close the door, trapping him inside. However, you need 75 Survival to make imitation strange meat pie without a recipe, or create drugged wine with a Med-X and 25 Medicine.
 * Barter check: With 55 Barter, you can say you are major publisher looking for a cookbook. Then there are two options: pay him 100 caps for an advance on the book, or pass another 55 Speech check to tell him to give you his recipes. However, you still need to find a way to get rid of him and a way to get into the freezer (if you don't want to use the terminal).
 * Medicine check: With 55 Medicine, you can tell him "harebrained psychobabble" until he has a breakdown. He gives you his recipes and freezer key before fleeing.

If you wish to cook imitation strange meat pie and expose Mortimer, you will need Philippe's recipes and 6 Intelligence or 75 Survival to improvise one.

If you wish to make drugged wine, you need a Med-X and 25 Medicine. (If you need a Med-X, you can try to find one in a first aid kit, although it is rare. There are three first aid kits in the basement: one in each of the two adjacent basement kitchens, and one in the storage room next to the bathroom.) There is a wine bottle you can examine on a shelf above the stove in Philippe's kitchen, and another wine bottle on a table in the wine cellar room (in the room next to the other kitchen). You only need to drug one bottle, but it cannot be taken despite the red steal message. However, you can pickpocket the head waiter while he is carrying it; the members at the banquet still end up being drugged. (This makes it possible to keep both the drugged wine and imitation strange meat pie in your inventory, if you also cook the fake food and "steal" it.)

After cooking the food or drugging the wine, wait until 7PM (when the dinner guests arrive,) then use the intercom to call the head waiter to come down and collect the wine/meal. If Marjorie did not sponsor you as a White Glove Society member earlier, disguise yourself in White Glove attire before the head waiter arrives, or stay hidden so that he does not become hostile. (For whatever reason, sometimes the waiter stops in front of the kitchen door when told to pick up the wine; to fix this, just close the door, and he'll retrieve the second bottle in the wine cellar.) It's also advisable to free Ted after the head waiter has left, since seeing Ted will turn the waiter hostile. When you open the door, Ted will be very upset, demanding to know who did this to him. You have three options: say there's no time to explain, tell him the truth, or lie and say you don't know who did it. In order to gain White Glove Society fame when the quest ends, don't tell Ted (or his father) the truth, so choose "There's no time to explain" or lie to him.

Have Ted follow you out of the kitchen and to the right, being careful to make sure the waiter isn't still walking back. Follow the stairs up and go through the door to the White Glove private dining area (if you're not a member you'll need to use a key from Marjorie or Mortimer, or pick the lock). If the waiter took the wine, everyone will be comatose. You can loot the bodies, Mortimer being among them. If the waiter took the fake meal, crouch down and hide behind the bar until Mortimer finishes his speech. Note: You must wait for him to finish his banquet speech with the words "bon appetit" before you approach Mortimer. Doing so beforehand will cause the other White Gloves to become hostile to you.

As soon as Mortimer finishes, simply jump over the counter, run over to him and initiate dialogue. Exposing him will cause him to flee, but the other diners - the ones who might otherwise have attacked you - should remain neutral. If you are successfully able to attack Mortimer after exposing him but before he flees the room, the other diners may collectively mob Mortimer and assist you in killing him. Afterwards, talk to Marjorie to receive White Glove Society fame.

At this point you can either return Ted to his father, or you can carry out the revenge path of Pheeble Will as detailed in the section above.

To complete the quest peacefully, return with Ted to his father. If you didn't lie to Ted in the freezer, he will tell his father what happened and Heck will want to impose a blockade of food on the Strip. You have the option to not let this happen with a 35 Speech check, which will lead to Strip fame. If you are unable to pass the check, you will gain infamy. If you lied to Ted in the freezer (or said there wasn't time to explain), his father asks who was behind the kidnapping. If you tell the truth, you have to pass the same 35 Speech check, but this time you will only gain Strip fame. If you lie to him, you will gain both Strip fame and White Glove Society fame.

You also get 500 XP and 500 caps for completing the quest.

The Bloodthirsty Courier
You also have the unmarked option to apply Wasteland manners in the pedant face of the White Glove Society, if you don't mind the possibility of being vilified by them.

Follow the quest as detailed in the "Following the Investigator" section above, but after discovering from Chauncey the plans regarding Ted, the courier has the unmarked option to tell Heck Gunderson what's happening.

After you have given Heck the news, he offers a different solution: simply shoot everyone in your way and return Ted to him. He provides you with a sawed-off shotgun and some shells.

Note that if you do this, you can kill all of the White Gloves in the casino with no Karma loss and never have your weapons taken again. You can even go into the cashier's office and clean it out to get your possessions back, suffering only minor Karma loss for opening/stealing things. Then you will have all your weapons and can continue the quest uninterrupted, although you may want to disguise as a White Glove to prevent unwanted attacks. Just be sure not to kill Marjorie or Mortimer or the quest will fail. Even after all the killing, once you complete the quest you may still go from hated to idolized by the White Gloves.

Once you return Ted to his father the quest is completed, and you gain 500 XP and 500 caps from Heck.

Behind the scenes

 * Beyond the Beef was designed by Eric Fenstermaker.
 * The quest is, in terms of the quantity of bug reports made by players and testers, the potentially buggiest quest in the game.
 * Beyond the Beef took a very long time to finish during development, as it took many milestones to complete. It was never under consideration to be cut from the game, despite its bugs, because of the quality of the quest - instead, the internal discussions were more along the lines of emphasizing the need to wrap up development of the quest so the team could focus efforts elsewhere.
 * If the Courier has the Wild Wasteland trait, then after framing Heck Gunderson, the securitron sent to arrest him will say the line "Dead or alive, you're coming with me" just before shooting him. This is a quote from the movie RoboCop (1987). The voice and inflection sound similar to that of Robocop as well.
 * Also if the Courier has the Wild Wasteland trait, the deceased investigator will be named "Crusoe." This is in reference to Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist of the classic novel of same name. In the novel, Crusoe is marooned on an island where he encounters cannibals.
 * The name of this quest is another play of words that most likely refers to the song Beyond the Reef, written by J. Pitman in 1948 and made popular in 1950 by Bing Crosby. The song was covered by Elvis Presley and The Ventures, along with many other artists.