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“
Oh yeah. You can order up anything you want... as long as it's corn or beans!<Laughs>
”Corporal William Farber is the cook responsible for both Camp McCarran's mess hall and the diet of the troops stationed there in Fallout: New Vegas.
Background[]
Although Camp McCarran is amply supplied with vegetable foodstuffs, their diet, imbalanced as it is, has recently taken a turn for the worse.[1][2][3] Not only has their food processor finally broken down past the point that they can quick fix,[4] but the Camp is experiencing a minor bout of dysentery.[5] Due to the recent lack of cooked food, and regular unsanitary conditions.[6] The situation is such a mess that he has to bribe the yearly health inspector.[7]
Since Camp McCarran has an abundance of foodstuffs, they have not bothered to acquire meat and spices from traders. Causing the men to become restless, even sneaking in food from the outside.[8]
Interactions with the player character[]
Interactions overview[]
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This character is a merchant. | Sells: Food and drink. Stores an excess of purified water (up to 50 bottles) |
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This character starts quests. | |
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This character is involved in quests. | |
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This character provides miscellaneous services. |
The player will be mistaken for a con man who scammed Farber out of 50 caps by posing as a health inspector |
Quests[]
- Not Worth a Hill of Corn and Beans: The cook requires spices and/or some repair work to make the diet more palatable for the troops.
- Poor Meat Never Makes Good Soup: Quality meat will help too.
- Gland for Some Home Cooking: The legendary Ruby's casserole is something that the Corporal wanted to taste for a while.
Effects of the player's actions[]
- The player slowly accumulates a greater and greater discount on Farber's goods as his requests are completed. Each bonus adds onto the discount, to a maximum possible discount of 28%.
- Fixing the food processor will earn the player a 5% discount on his wares.
- Each meat distributor can be convinced to supply McCarran normally, but passing a Speech check (or a Barter check with Blake) will increase the discount. Ruby Nash increases the discount by 2%, Fitz increases it by 3%, and Blake increases it by 5%. Passing the checks increases Ruby's and Fitz's bonuses to 5%, and Blake's to 8%.
- Delivering the food additive from Vault 22 is worth another 5%.
- A low NCR reputation will result in a 50% surcharge. This disqualifies the player from any discount.
Inventory[]
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Bandana Merc grunt outfit |
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Pork n' Beans | |
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empty |
Bugs[]
- If the player recruited Fitz, the dialogue option is never properly disabled, allowing the player to report it ad infinitum and stack an infinite discount. Fitz is heavily bugged himself.
- The dialogue is generally quite buggy and will be broken if the player fixes the food processor before talking to Farber, will not remove the food additive from inventory properly (setquestobject efae0 0 removes the quest item tag from the item), and a variety of other problems. See quest pages for details.
Appearances[]
William Farber appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.
References
- ↑ The Courier: "Where would you suggest I find meat in the amount you'd need here?"
William Farber: "It doesn't need to all come from the same source. There are a bunch of different vendors around who sell meat. Fitz, the Nash's, Crimson Caravan... We've never really tried to go out and organize deals with merchants to supply our food. Already having an overstock of food, we haven't needed to. But we really need some good-old red meat on the menu soon, so I'm willing to divert some caps in their direction if they're open to supplying us."
(William Farber's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Got anything to eat?"
William Farber: "Oh yeah. You can order up anything you want... as long as it's corn or beans!<Laughs> Just kidding. Haven't you heard? With few shipments from home and little variety, the troops are getting restless for some quality grub. You can only do so much as a chef with just corn, beans, onions, and peppers."
(William Farber's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Can anything be done to improve your supplies?"
William Farber: "Well, we haven't had any quality meat in months. Everyone in the camp just eating beans for protein... It isn't pretty. Some of my kitchen machinery is broken down, too, so we've been eating mostly raw vegetables. And I'm desperate for spices or seasonings. Anything. Just something to the general mood around here."
(William Farber's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "What parts are needed to fix the food processor?"
William Farber: "Here is the list. We've been scrapping together quick-fixes to keep it running for months. I think it finally crapped out and needs a full overhaul. It's the goofy machine behind the counter in the corner next to the stove. I'd be much obliged if you could take a look at it and get it fixed up."
(William Farber's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "I'm here to provide support. Is there anything I might be able to help with?"
James Hsu: "Hmm... you don't cook by any chance, do you? Farber's doing his best, but it's hard to manage an army with half my staff in line for the latrine. Honestly, we're fighting a lot of fires right now. The Fiends keep pressing their position from Vault 3. We've got the Legion breathing down our necks across the river. We actually took an officer alive last week, but so far he hasn't spoken a word."
(James Hsu's dialogue) - ↑ The state of the mess hall, a complete and total unsanitary mess.
- ↑ William Farber: "Listen, asshole. I know you're not really an NCR health inspector, so you can cut the restaurant critic routine. And I want my fifty caps back, 'cause I looked it up and there ain't no disease called colorectal implosion syndrome. So I paid you to look the other way for nothing. Wait. Wait. You're not... oh wow, I'm sorry. You looked just like- never mind. Sorry. So... what can I serve you up?"
The Courier: "Is there a health inspector bothering you?"
William Farber: "Ah, it's nothing. You just looked like the health inspector who stopped through for the yearly inspection a couple weeks back. I was hoping I wouldn't have to wait another 11 months to see his crooked ass to get my caps back. Ah well, anything I can get you?"
(William Farber's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "I hear the food around here is pretty bad."
Angela Williams: "It's foul, to tell the truth. Most people try to get what they can from the outside... even if it's just a smuggled candy bar, now and then. Contreras is a genius, he can find almost anything you'd want. Takes caps to get him motivated, though. He won't do a thing for free."
(Angela Williams' dialogue)