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A hill that I will die on is that Fallout New Vegas is, by far, the best Fallout game of all time. However, I can listen to debates regarding the strength of Fallout 1 and 2. However, merely mentioning anything Bethesda has had its hands on in reference to this title is simply absurd.
There are many reasons why I point to New Vegas as being the superior game in the series, so many that I am pretty sure my keyboard would explode before I managed to get them all down. Therefore, let’s stick to the reason that has brought us here today – amazingly interesting and different side quests.
In today’s article, we will look at one of the best quests in the Fallout franchise, Beyond the Beef. This quest perfectly sums up everything that is amazing about FNV. Firstly, it allows the player a great deal of autonomy, ensuring that you know every step of the way that the courier is in charge of how this whole thing pans out. Also, this quest and the ways you can complete it are bonkers crazy. In true Fallout style, the developers hold nothing back for this quest.
Lastly, the thing that I love most about this quest is that it just smacks you in the face from out of nowhere. The player can be going about their day, journeying through the New Vegas strip in aid of completing the main quest, then, suddenly, they are embroiled in a possible cannibalistic cult who want your help to cover the whole thing up. Yes, you read that right, a cannibalistic cult from out of nowhere; what’s not to love?
So, with all this being said, in this Beyond the Beef guide, we’ll take a look at the Beyond the Beef side quest from FNV in the hopes of helping you through this incredibly well-detailed quest. Let’s go!
Getting the Beef on the Barbie
The player can begin this quest by simply walking into the Ultra-Luxe Casino, located on the New Vegas strip, and approaching the heavily protected, cowboy hat-wearing, whisky-drinking Heck Gunderson.
The player can either stumble upon Mr. Gunderson through a sheer accident when they are visiting the casino, or they can seek him out under the orders of Walter Phebus, another cowboy hat-wearing older gentleman who wants the courier to dispose of his rival, Heck Gunderson.
Regardless of how you make your way to Mr. Gunderson, the player must get past his security before engaging the man in some dialogue. As soon as you engage him in conversation, he will hit you with those southern manors by saying:
“Beg your pardon, stranger, but I’m looking for someone. You ain’t seen a young man with dark brown hair and a white hat on lately, have you?”
Of course, we later find out that this missing person is Heck’s son, Ted Gunderson, who has apparently disappeared off the face of the earth without a trace, driving his father to despair and drink. After you finish your talk with Heck, the quest will officially begin, pointing the player in the general direction of the Ultra-Luxe staff.
Grilling the Management
While the player can waste their time interrogating some of the more superfluous members of the Ultra-Luxe staff and residents, you are best going straight to one of the managers, a woman named Majorie, who will talk to the player about another recent incident wherein a bride went missing shortly before her big day.
As this conversation with Majorie continues, she will drop the bomb on the player that the White Glove Society, an elite group of people within the Ultra-Luxe community, used to be cannibals. However, this practice has been forbidden for some time now within the group and the casino as a whole. The player can take this opportunity to try and convince Majorie that you are also a cannibal and, therefore, can be let in on any cannibal-specific secrets if she has any. This shot in the dark ends exactly as you would expect, with Majorie clamming up and asking the player to leave and speak with her colleague, Mortimer.
The player will find this other manager behind the desk directly beyond the casino’s cashier’s stand. When I first met Mortimer, now knowing the cannibalistic history of the White Glove Society, I had no doubt that this man was somehow involved. I mean, he has the creepiest mustache I have ever seen, and why is he so pale?
As you begin your conversation with Mortimer, he will immediately annoy you by rejecting your offer to undertake any work he may have, refusing you as you clearly aren’t up to his high standards. Next, the player must ask him why his organization is so special anyway?
He will retort with a typically condescending tone, informing the player that this is a very popular question, probably due to the fact that they are indeed “special.” I’m sure you can guess what he means by special. After this, he will continue to give you a long speech which basically boils down to one thing – he, and people like him, who can afford to dress and speak in a certain way, are more deserving of the finer things in life than common wasteland rubble. God, I hate him. This basically concludes your conversation with Mortimer for the time being.
Inspector Courier – On the Case!
After you finish speaking with Mortimer and don’t really get anywhere, it will be time to throw on your best suit and fedora combo before looking for clues around the establishment. Thankfully though, you won’t have to go far to discover your first one.
Just over Mortimer’s left shoulder, after you finish speaking with him at the desk, there will be a door leading to a hallway with a supply closet at one end. Pick this lock and look around; inside, you will find a Container of Chlorine – an item owned by someone and, therefore, should only be taken when nobody is watching. However, in true RPG style, this item has no weight, meaning that it is likely important to a quest.
After you take this, the player should return to Majorie and ask her some more questions about the disappearance. At this point, she will tell the player that an investigator, hired by the betrothed of the missing bride-to-be, recently arrived and that Mortimer took over his care, promising him a complimentary room.
Returning to Mortimer and asking about this investigator and the free room will provoke Mortimer to ask whether you have any information for him. You have three options to reply to this question, each with different but creepy replies. Regardless, he will give you the key to the investigator’s room, sending you up there.
The Bodies Hit the Floor
When we eventually enter the investigator’s locked room, we will find signs of a struggle and a dead body lying in the middle of the room, covered in blood. Followed by an immediate attack from behind by some White Glove members. After you have killed these people, make sure to snag one of their outfits. We may need to masquerade as one of them later.
With this outfit in hand, inspect the body of the dead investigator. You will discover a matchbook on his person with something written on the back of it. The message will be “Steam Room 4 pm.” No prizes for guessing what we need to do next.
Once you arrive at the steam room and wait until the clock strikes four, a man by the name of Chauncy will enter the steam room. At first, you may be a little alarmed by the fact he is wearing a White Glove Society outfit, but no need to worry, all you should do here is talk with the man.
Fine Chauncey of Seeing You Here
When you first meet with Chauncey, he will be confused, not knowing who you are, worried that a White Glove hitman has replaced the man he was supposed to meet. However, you just need to reassure him that this is not the case and that you are here to look for Ted Gunderson and nothing more.
The conversation will continue until Chauncey begins to smell something fishy, worrying that you are indeed in Mortimer’s employ. Here, the player can respond in a couple of ways. You can either announce that “I am now,” subsequently attacking Chauncey, but this would be entirely stupid as the man has no clues on his person once dead. Therefore, you need to pick one of the passive, honest answers, informing him that the investigator he was supposed to meet is now dead.
After chatting with Chauncey some more, you learn that he was going to spill the beans on the details behind the bride’s disappearance. Apparently, he wasn’t just aware of the plot to take her; he was integral to their plan, distracting her fiance while the other White Glove members moved in.
According to Chauncey, some months ago, the higher-ranking members of the society began meetings to discuss returning to the ‘old values’ of the society. Chauncey attended these meetings, thinking the topics were going to be innocuous. However, when he learned that they wanted to return to their cannibalistic ways, he was too deep and knew he would be killed if he tried to leave. Thereofre, he had to go along with their plan to prove his loyalty to this society.
By the end of this conversation, Chauncey will tell the player that Mortimer is behind all these disappearances and is currently holding Ted Gunderson alive, waiting to kill him so that his meat would be fresh by the time they need him.
Chauncey will tell you that they plan to prepare a meal using Ted for their nightly 7 pm banquet in the White Glove Societies’ private room. Mortimer plans to secretly slip everyone this food, masking it as something else until they have all eaten, telling them all at the end of their meal.
Mortimer’s plan is that there is no way everyone could be punished; therefore, people will be more open to the idea of reverting to the old ways again. After this, ask Chauncey where they are keeping Ted; he will tell the player that while he doesn’t know exactly, you can bet that he will be near the Gourmand, the head chef, in the members-only section.
Finally, Chauncey will offer to sponsor the player as a member of the White Glove Society to get them through the locked door. He will then continue to give the player several options regarding what he can do to put an end to the whole thing, including drugging the wine course at the beginning of the meal or swapping out Ted for some actual meat so that when Mortimer reveals his ruse, he will be the only person in the wrong.
Options, So Many Options
At every part of this quest, the player has several options for completing the quest. However, up until this point, anything you do will not affect the quest’s ending. Now, though, your decisions will begin to matter.
With this in mind, let’s look at your options and how they end up for Ted and the courier.
Siding With Mortimer
If you actually want to help Mortimer for some reason, you simply have to talk to him and pass a speech check of 62 or have the Cannibal perk. Doing this will allow Mortimer to bring the player in on his plan.
However, there are still several options when siding with Mortimer. The first and simplest is killing and using Ted as planned. While this option will fail the main point of this quest, it will activate other quest targets for the player. To do this, Mortimer will give the player all the keys you need to gain access to Ted. After finding him in the freezer, kill him and go along with Mortimer’s plan.
Alternatively, if you do want to please Mortimer and complete the quest for Heck, you can convince Mortimer to swap Ted out for another human victim. If you are particularly evil, you can offer up one of your human companions for this role, or you can offer to find and kill the original victim who subsequently escaped before you came on the scene, Carlyle St. Clair the 3rd.
Of course, to get Ted out of there and make sure nothing blows back on Mortimer and the society, you will have to lie to Ted, telling him some misinformation about the people who took him; this will take a speech ability above 38. Once you manage to get Ted out via the Gourmand’s restaurant door, you will need to get him to Heck, who will be furious about his son’s treatment. Once again, you will need to lie to Mr. Gunderson, who will reward the player with 500 caps.
After Ted is out of the way, you will need to find the replacement – Carlyle. To find this next victim, head to the quest marker; his house is near the Freeside North Entrance. The player can either knock out Carlyle with the cattle prod that Mortimer provided earlier or place him in a nearby dumpster. Or, if the player has a speech skill above 65, you can convince him to meet you at the Ultra-Luxe.
With one of these three Mortimer-based options in place and the 7 pm banquet going ahead as scheduled, the quest will complete, giving the player a boost in White Glove Society and Strip fame.
Catching Mortimer Red Handed
As discussed with Chauncey, the player can also complete this quest by switching out the main human course for something that closely resembles it. To do this, you will need to meet with the Gourmand, a man named Philippe.
You can either deal with him, pickpocket him, or pass a 55 barter or medicine check to gain his recipe for a human flesh alternative. Once you have either taken care of the Gourmand or passed these skill checks, the player must hit the buzzer to summon the head waiter to begin service. If this waiter spots the player, the plan will flop. Therefore, use a White Glove Society disguise or hide out of the waiter’s sight.
Once the waiter has left the room with the food, head over and find Ted in the freezer, free him from his cold prison and proceed to sneak out of there, arriving at the banquet hall. The player must then approach this next bit carefully, as a bit of timing is involved. I recommend quick saving throughout this section.
Once Mortimer completes his speech, leaving the society members in shock, they quickly approach him before the club bouncers can sport Ted and the player; engaging Mortimer in dialogue will pause anything like this happening in the background, preventing any fighting. This will allow the player to expose Mortimer’s plan to the group and how you stopped it.
Next, the player must return Ted to his father, telling him all the grizzly details. At first, Heck will want to pull his Brahmin supply out of the Strip, but if you pass a speech check of 35, he will reconsider, earning the player a boost to their Strip fame.
Setting Up Mr. Gunderson
As I mentioned at the beginning of this guide, the player can work their way into the quest by speaking with Walter Phebus and beginning the Pheeble Will quest. By doing this, the player can complete the Beyond the Beef quest while pleasing Mortimer and Walter.
The details of this version of the quest are very simple. Firstly, you need to get Mortimer on your side just like before, getting the keys from him. After this, you must find Ted and kill him. This will allow the player to loot important evidence from his corpse, such as blood and other samples. With this in hand, you must gain access to the Ultra-Luxe Penthouse suite. Once you enter, you can either sneak past or kill the security Heck as placed within the suite – there are no consequences for going in guns blazing.
Eventually, with Ted’s blood and tissue scattered about the room’s bed and sink, the player must walk outside of the Ultra-Luxe casino and find the closest Securitron, informing the robot about a murder that has just taken place inside the casino.
The robot will roll into action, confronting Mr. Gunderson and placing him under arrest. However, Heck does not choose to go quietly, resisting the insistent robot, resulting in weapons being drawn and Heck dead on the floor.
After the dust has settled, return to both Mortimer and Walter for your rewards. Completing the quest this way will ensure the White Glove Society return to their cannibalistic ways.
Drugging the Cannibals
During our meeting with Chauncy, he mentioned drugging the White Glove Society in order to get Ted out of danger. To do this, you must proceed as you would when saving Ted and swapping out the food for some fake meat. However, this time around, using a medical skill of at least 25 and a Med-X, you can drug two bottles of wine found in Phillipe’s kitchen.
Once this wine has been drugged, you call the head waiter as normal to take this and the fake human pie to the dinners. Eventually, you can save Ted, emerging into a room full of drugged guests. You then need to confront Mortimer, as you would have in the previous scenario before you leave and return Ted to his father safe and sound.
The same option to gain Strip fame via a speech check with Heck will present itself at this time. Whether you take this or not, you will receive 500 XP and 500 caps from Heck as a thank-you.
Going Scorched Earth
The last and most entertaining option you can pick for this quest is to walk into the Ultra-Luxe casino and just start blasting. Well, actually, there is a little bit of nuance you have to go through before this stage, but trust me, it’s coming.
Basically, the player must follow along with the quest described at the article’s beginning until they finish their conversation with Chauncey. After this, the player must find Heck Gunderson again and tell him about what’s happening instead of trying to fix it himself. As you might imagine, Heck is not too fond of the idea of sneaking around and trying to slip Ted out of the freezer; instead, he tells the player to go in and kill everyone involved with this plot, giving you a sawed-off shotgun to help complete the job.
To start this version of the quest, I would advise making your way through to the cashier’s desk to pick up your loot that you had to give up upon entering the casino; with your own kick-ass guns in hand, you should make short work of the White Glove Society.
The best part of this version of the quest is that no matter how many members of the society you kill, your karma rating is not affected in the slightest. Once all the murdering is out of the way, and Ted has been returned to his father, Heck will give the player the 500 XP and 500 caps they have earned.
Quest Notes
Now that I have listed all the possible ways of completing this quest, there are a couple of things I think you should keep in mind to ensure this quest runs as smoothly as possible.
- The player should come into this quest at a decently high level, with enough points scattered around their skill tree to ensure they can pass all the skill checks that occur during the quest. For example, I would recommend a speech skill of at least 65; without this, certain aspects of the quest will just be a lot harder to access.
- While completing the quest in a manner that will expose Mortimer, the player should always quickly save a bunch in the final steps of the quest, especially when he is giving and ending his speech, as timing is very important here.
- The player can skip most of this quest by simply picking a lock into the Gourmand’s kitchen and sneaking their way to find and rescue Ted Gunderson. Doing this will complete the quest and give you the reward as normal.
- If Ted does not agree to start selling his Brahmin to the people of the strip during this quest, the player can kill him in the middle of the casino, and nobody will turn hostile towards the player. In fact, there are no negative consequences for this action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How do I Start Beyond the Beef in Fallout New Vegas?
Answer: To start this quest, enter the Ultra-Luxe casino on the New Vegas strip and find Heck Gunderson sitting by the bar. He will be drinking his sorrows away and will start talking to the player about his missing son as soon as you engage him in dialogue. By the end of this conversation, the player will have started the quest.
Question: Can you Join the White Glove Society?
Answer: Through the sponsorship of either Majorie or Chauncey, the player can be invited into the White Glove Society. However, this membership will be basically worthless after the Beyond the Beef quest is completed.
Question: Is Fallout New Vegas Canon?
Answer: Even though Bethesda did not make New Vegas, everything that occurs in the game is considered to be part of the Fallout canon. After all, many of the game developers at Obsidian had worked for Interplay when they produced the original Fallout games.
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it, a comprehensive guide to one of the best and most detailed quests in Fallout New Vegas. Hopefully, through this quest, you can see just how much effort the developers went to to ensure that the player felt like their decisions mattered and made an impact on the world around them.
For me, this quest perfectly summarizes everything that is great about New Vegas, combining great storytelling, wacky incidents, and great mechanics into something truly spectacular that you can play over and over again.
I really hope you enjoyed this guide and the Beyond the Beef quest. Hopefully, I will see you again soon.