Beyond the Beef

"Really? A cannibalism problem? I'm so glad you weren't eaten!"

- Yes Man

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

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

Warning: This quest is tied to Pheeble Will, if you choose the revenge way to kill Heck Gunderson and/or his son. Depending on your choice, you can fail this quest, or you won't be able to help Caesar's Legion in the quest Render Unto Caesar.

Quick Walkthrough

 * 1) Go to the Ultra-Luxe casino and speak with Heck Gunderson.
 * 2) Speak with Marjorie and then Mortimer, the managers of the Ultra-Luxe.
 * 3) Sort out everyone's problems by:
 * 4) Help return Heck Gunderson's son to him alive, curing the White Glove Society cannibalism in the process.
 * 5) Help return Heck Gunderson's son to him alive and help Mortimer return the White Glove Society to cannibalism by killing one of your human companions or a man named Carlyle St. Clair.
 * 6) Kill and cook Heck Gunderson's son, blame his father for the death, and help the White Glove Society return to cannibalism.
 * 7) Kill every White glove member you see on the way to Ted and lead him out alive.

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 also can lie about being a cannibal with a speech of 62 or the cannibal perk, listen to his plan and lie again that you will help him
 * 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 kidnap, but the victim was able to escape. Having to find a substitute at the last minute, he 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. 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 arising suspicion, if he cooperates.
 * 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 White Glove Society fame.

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

EITHER:

Sacrifice one of your human companions by going to the kitchen and locking them in the freezer. This will end the quest (be sure to take all equipment they are carrying).

OR:

Travel to Carlyle St. Clair's home and convince Carlyle to go to the Ultra-Luxe, or knock him unconscious and put his corpse 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 or Confirmed Bachelor 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 and 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 corpse to the dumpster and place him inside.

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 dialog 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 Speech 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.

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 bouncer 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. Expose Mortimer's plan, and talk to Marjorie for your boost to White Glove Society fame. You also gain Strip fame if you persuade 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, and you 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.

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. There will be two body-guards in the suite which you can kill 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 200XP and 1,500 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 to return to cannibalism:

After you have talked to Marjorie about the disappearance of Ted, she will tell you that an investigator is looking for clues about a missing bride that was at the hotel. She will point you to Mortimer, who will tell that the investigator is still in the hotel and will give a key to his room. You also have an option to ask Mortimer about the White Glove Society's reputation of being cannibals, which will give you the opportunity to lie with a speech of 62 or use the cannibal perk to admit that you, too, are a cannibal. Mortimer will reveal his plan to you and request that you help him carry it out. If you lie that you will help him, he will provide keys for the Ultra-Luxe freezer, Gourmand kitchen and Ultra-Luxe Penthouse, which may come in handy later.

Go to the investigator's room, located in the Ultra-Luxe Hotel Rooms. There you will find the investigator dead and the room a mess. Immediately after you enter the room, two White Glove Society's members will appear armed with dress canes and attack. After the attackers have been dealt with, search the investigator's body and grab the Matchbook note, which will tell you that he had a meeting with someone in the Ultra-Luxe Steam room at 4PM.

Note: Quicksave often, the steam room area is prone to make the game crash at any moment, even if you are standing still in the middle of the room alone. It is better to enter the room only at or a little after 4PM.

In the steam room you will meet Chauncey, a member of the White Glove Society who regrets the path that his fellows have turned to and was helping the investigator. When questioned, he tells you that Mortimer was behind the disappearance of Ted Gunderson, and that he is planning a banquet at 7PM in which food made with human flesh will be served. In this way, the white Glove Society will pass the taboo and will return to cannibalism after Mortimer makes a speech telling them what they ate.

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 likely attack to protect their secret. He gives you two suggestions for freeing Ted: OR
 * You can drug the with an anesthetic (creating drugged wine) and escape with Ted while the members are comatose.
 * 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 would not prevent Mortimer from trying again in future. Right after you say goodbye, an assassin will enter the room 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 the assassin has been dealt with, proceed to the members-only section. Go to the Gourmand restaurant and enter the basement through the kitchen door. To get inside you will either need to be accepted as an honorary White Glove member, or you will need to pick the lock on the kitchen door. This is where the keys provided by Mortimer earlier may come in handy. If your reputation on the Strip is at least "accepted", Marjorie will gladly sponsor you as a member, and she will also provide you with Formal Wear and the key to the members-only section.

With a good sneak skill you can easily avoid an encounter with the White Glove Society members in the basement. If you don't take a stealthy approach, you will be stopped by a guard who will ask what you are doing there, and with a 55 Speech you can lie that Mortimer wants to move the kid. If you can't pass the check, you can also use a 35 Repair that you are a plumber checking for leaks.

Next you need to get rid of Philippe, the cook, before you can open the freezer and free Ted. You have to do this anyway if you wish to create the fake food and expose Mortimer. There are several ways this can be done.
 * You could simply kill Philippe, although this can sometimes lead to White Glove Society infamy and possibly vilify you.
 * If you wish to simply serve a fake meal and expose Mortimer, talk to Philippe. He will reply in a very rude and arrogant manner. If you say that he can't talk to you like that, he becomes even more rude and arrogant and you have the opportunity to get the recipe and the key from him:
 * Medicine check: With a 55 medicine you can tell him that he's arrogant because of projecting his hate, since he was abandoned by his father, abused by his mother and beaten by his brothers and sisters in his infancy. He then will give you both the recipe and a key to the freezer where Ted is being held and flee.
 * Barter check: A 55 barter check saying that you are a literary agent looking to publish a cookbook. After more arrogant conversation, pass another 55 speech check and he will give his recipes (or you can pay 100 caps for them). But you will still have to get the key from him and find a way to get rid of him.
 * Alternatively, you can just pickpocket Philippe for the key and recipe, then lock him in the freezer. To do this, you must pass a speech check and lie that a radroach is in the pantry. Philippe will run into the freezer, at which point you can use the terminal to close the door, trapping him inside.

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

If you wish to drug the wine, you need at least 25 medicine and to simply go to the room next to the kitchen and put one of your Med-X in the bottle on the table. There is also a wine bottle on a shelf above the stove where you cook the meat that can be used instead.

Note: You don't need to drug the wine AND make the fake meal, you only need to use one of the options.

After cooking the fake food or drugging the wine, use the intercom to call the head waiter. Once he has left, free Ted and have him follow you. It's advisable to free Ted only after the head waiter has collected the drugged wine (or meal) and 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 the option to lie or tell him the truth. Lying will result in White Glove Society fame, and telling the truth requires a speech later with his father.

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). Crouch down and hide behind the bar until Mortimer has finished his speech.

Note: you must wait for him to finish his speech before leaving hiding, or the White Glove members will turn hostile.

As soon as Mortimer finishes, 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 for a lot of White Glove 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 Strip and White Glove Society fame.

Wearing White Glove Society attire when re-entering the room in which Heck Gunderson is waiting will cause him and his guards to attack the other members of the White Glove Society. This will cause you to gain infamy with the White Glove Society and The Strip.

After Ted is returned to his father you gain 500XP, 500 caps and more Strip and White Glove Society fame.

Video Walkthrough
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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 "Hurricane 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.
 * 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). Voice and inflection sound similar to that of Robocop as well.
 * If the Courier has the Wild Wasteland trait, the deceased investigator will be named "Crusoe." This is in reference to David Caruso, the actor who plays the protagonist of CSI: Miami. The corpse also looks strikingly familiar to Caruso.

Bugs

 * Ted Gunderson may become stuck in combat mode, and will not follow you through area transitions. To correct, fast travel to The Strip North Gate, Ted should appear shortly. When re-entering the Strip, be cautious as Ted does not have a passport and will be shot by security if you do not make it to the gate fast enough. You can also use the 'resurrect' command on him from the console if you're playing the PC version, and it will reset him.
 * If you prepare the meal, call the waiter, and then go up to the private dining room without Ted, Mortimer may never begin his speech. If you try to return later with Ted, the room will become hostile toward you.
 * If you are working with the Legion, and leave Boone in the freezer as a substitute meal, make sure you kill him before locking him in. "Back" him up into the freezer, kill him, return the Gundersen kid to his father, and then tell Mortimer. If you do not kill Boone first, even if you hire another companion after he's been eaten, when you go to the Legion camp, you will be perceived as hostile and attacked on sight.
 * If you are confronted by a waiter in the basement where you have to explain why Ted is with you prior to making it to the members only room with Ted Gunderson with you, Mortimer will begin to walk toward the door and end up leaving the room before he finishes his speech. If you confront him before the speech ends, you will fail to expose him since he did not yet say anything about eating humans. However, once he leaves the room you may not expose him. When this happens the only solution is to walk back through and reunite Ted with his father, though the White Glove members will be hostile.
 * This actually may depend on the time player spent down in the kitchen. If this bug occurs, you may reload from save and wait until it's 7 PM next day. When you go out of the kitchen, Mortimer should no longer be walking away.
 * If you choose to leave Boone in the freezer, you will not receive his ending, making it as if you had never met him. This happens regardless of whether he is dead or alive when locked in. May be true for the other human companions as well; only tested with Boone.
 * If you complete the request and kill Mortimer and/or Marjorie but without drugging the wine, you can go to the kitchen afterwards, drug the wine and both will respawn for some reason, but will only offer non-quest related dialogue.
 * If you go into the Penthouse Suite upon completion of the quest, two identical 'Gundersons Hired Hand' non-player character's will be inside. They will follow you around the suite with their guns drawn, but will not attack, and they will not retaliate even when attacked by the player. Killing them does not result in negative karma.
 * There is a possible bug where if the player completes 'the courier that broke the bank' trophy/achievement, and becomes hostile to the White Gloves, upon entering the Ultra-Luxe casino floor the game will freeze every time.
 * Entering the Ultra-Luxe and immediately attacking can result in a very interesting questing experience. There is no conversation option to leave the casino - the player must either surrender their weapons or attack the guard. If the player chooses to attack the guard, the casino section will become hostile and attack - but not the rest of the hotel. All quest non-player characters will remain friendly. The player can proceed with the quest normally, although Marjorie may become hostile at random, causing some resolutions to be impossible. Additionally, Heck Gunderson will not have the conversation options necessary for him to give you the shotgun and proceed to kill the White Gloves. The player can bring Ted Gunderson back to resolve the quest, but cannot convince Heck to rampage through the casino.
 * Choosing to pistol whip Carlyle St. Clair [Guns 45] can cause him to die and the quest to be marked as a failure.
 * When waiting to meet the investigator's contact, Chauncey, in the bath house, the game crashes. Use wait and quick save frequently to work around it. It's confirmed that with or without companions this is likely to happen for different reasons, so quick save often and try to stay as little as possible in the steam room (enter the room only at 4PM or little after and go straight to him) Update: There is a mod at http://www.newvegasnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37351 which fixes the crashes/lockups at the bath house.
 * Completing the conversation with Chauncey and attempting to leave the Bathhouse through the north-eastern door to the Casino Floor locks the game en route. Loading an older save (prior to entering the Ultra-Luxe) and going through the quest again from the beginning did not resolve the issue. Somehow circumvented by either constantly quick-saving or not looting either Chauncey or the Assassin, or both.
 * If you sneak into the kitchen of the White Glove Society prior to starting Heck's quest, it still allows you to drug the wine and call the head waiter down. If you do this, and then start the quest, you will be unable to do a few of the optional objectives that involve drugging the wine and calling the head waiter down. However, the quest can still be completed.
 * If you don't pick the dialog option when speaking to Chauncey asking about "other suggestions for freeing Ted" you will NOT get the additional option to prepare the fake meal to oust Mortimer. The oven will not be accessible to make the fake strange meat pies and you will not be able to call down the Head Waiter to pick up the fake strange meat pies. The only options left will be to kill everyone on your way out or drug the wine to sneak past.
 * If you left your non-player character's in the kitchen area and attempt to go back to retrieve them without taking Ted to his father first, Ted's AI might bug out and he'll go retrieve a weapon in the basement. Then stand still in an attack pose refusing to follow you. And if you bring your non-player character's up to the White Glove Society room without being a member (after dealing with Mortimer) they will be hostile to your non-player character's and begin attacking.
 * A fix is to simply "Wait" (T) for one hour before you try to bring him through a door, as he will then temporarily holster his weapon and proceed through doors normally.
 * If Ted cannot follow you (you enter a different room and he does not follow) simply go to the room where his father is and type the following into the console: and hit enter. Then type  and Ted will appear.
 * Or type the following into the console: and hit enter.
 * If you kill everyone and find Ted in the kitchen, when you bring him back to his father, you'll get the same dialogue as if you were starting the quest.
 * After framing Heck Gunderson, when the Securitron confronts him, if you leave the area during their conversation and come back they will not finish it and just stand together from then on.
 * Just after starting the quest, when the Courier is sent to talk to Marjorie, she can become "stuck" in the Members Only Section dining area, preventing quest progression. Assuming for whatever reason that it is not possible to load an earlier save, the easiest way to progress from here is to pickpocket a white glove and take their Members Key. Then get a Stealth Boy and sneak into the Members Only section. Although it is filled with enemies, Marjorie remains friendly, so sneak over to her, leave sneak and immediately initiate speech, then drop back into sneak mode after the conversation is finished. Leaving sneak mode will cause all enemies in the area to get up from their seats and immediately start searching for you, but if you use a Stealth Boy it is possible to remain hidden until "Caution" is replaced by "Hidden", allowing you to leave the area and continue the quest as normal (talking to Marjorie causes her to return to her welcome desk outside the Gourmand).
 * Sometimes the remains from Ted Gunderson are not provided after killing him. You can add the samples via the console with:
 * If you choose to cook the imitation meat to expose Mortimer and you have killed White Glove Society guards in the kitchen area, Mortimer may never make his speech. The entire dining room (except Mortimer) will become hostile to you and Ted unless you are wearing a White Glove Society disguise (there is one guard who will still recognize you and become hostile). In this case, you will need to return to the main lobby (guards will attack you) and once all the guards are dealt with, Ted and Heck will meet, allowing you to talk to Heck and finish the quest.
 * Sometimes, when reuniting Ted and Heck a White Glove Society member behind a roulette table will be knocked unconscious.
 * If you convince Ted to follow you, and go to the Ultra-Luxe Penthouse, he will immediately turn hostile.
 * Upon confronting Mortimer after his speech and revealing his plans, the other White Glove members in the dining hall may become hostile to the player's companions but not to the player character. This will most likely result in their death, as your assistance will turn the members hostile to you. This can be solved by leaving the dining room, having the companions wait, then returning and completing the objective.
 * After becoming Idolized with the White Glove Society, both your Caesar's Legion & Powder gangers reputation(both good & bad) will reset to neutral.
 * If you free Ted, the White Gloves in the basement will go hostile, as well as the Head Waiter. When speaking to Mortimer, he will attack you, starting other White Glove members to attack you.
 * Taking the imitation strange meat pie that you cook before calling the waiter to serve it results in him not leaving the kitchen area since he is scripted to pick it up before leaving.
 * After completing the quest there is a small chance to encounter a glitch causing it to repeatedly say Optional Find out more about the White Glove society by talking to Marjorie.

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