Grigori

"A shepherd must tend to his flock, especially when they have grown…unruly"

- Father Grigori

Father Grigori is the only known surviving occupant of Ravenholm during the events of Half-Life 2, and he appears to be mentally unstable but generally friendly. In Half-Life 2, he helps Gordon Freeman survive his trip through Ravenholm and escorts him to the mines on the far side of the zombie infested town.

Half-Life 2
Grigori's eventual fate is left ambiguous; if the player remains at the gate after having been "escorted" to the mines, Grigori continues shooting at zombies, and tells Freeman to "Get going," and that "No one wants to stay in Ravenholm." Eventually, Grigori will detonate some nearby fuel tanks as zombies break out of a crypt; he runs through the flames laughing and firing before taking cover in the crypt entrance and continues killing zombies for some time, then disappears inside.

Given the circumstances of his last encounter, even if he survived the large zombie horde that he and Gordon stirred up, the destruction of the Citadel could have obliterated Ravenholm. The time and distances involved are sketchy, but as Gordon manages to reach Black Mesa East in about 2 to 3 hours or so, and Ravenholm is just outside Black Mesa East, it can be judged that Ravenholm is around 20-40km from City 17. Seeing as the forests outside City 17 are relatively untouched, it can be reasoned that Grigori escaped the Citadel explosion. It is not impossible that he escaped by waiting out the fire and running away, but being slightly insane, he may have fought to the end anyway. In Raising the Bar they say his eventual fate was left up to the players to decide and that they did not plan to re-use the character in the series.

Appearance
Father Grigori is a middle-aged man with a shaven head; he dresses in traditional embroidered clothing and Converse sneakers covered with headcrab ooze.

Around his neck, he wears a crucifix, signifying his religious position and outlook, which seems to have taken a turn for the extreme as he tries hard to return his "congregation" to their human state, or relieve them.

His canny ability to move around Ravenholm quickly and inconspicuously suggests he is fast on his feet, and agile.

Personality and skills
Grigori is mentally unhinged, and can be heard ranting, uttering disjointed biblical references and laughing manically while hunting zombies in Ravenholm. Grigori probably has a form of chronic reactive psychosis, which is not a mental disorder in itself, but psychosis brought on by the experience of a severely traumatic or stressful event.

He is apparently aware of the resistance against the Combine, at one point declaring to himself: "Although they call me crazy, I care not for Thou art my light, my strength and my savior." "They" might be an oblique reference to Black Mesa East's inhabitants. He was probably a Parish priest at an eastern orthodox church in Ravenholm. As the town ceased with the Invasion, and became flooded with refugees, he probably became the de-facto leader, or at least spiritual leader of the Ravenholm refugees. When the Combine attacked the town, Grigori was the lone survivor of what was probably a vain and desperate defense of the town. When his people were turned into zombies, the stress of it was obviously too much for his kind heart could bear, and his mind cracked a bit in a psychological defense. Falling back on the one thing that never let him down, his religious faith (so much to the point that he has branded a cross on his right hand), He seems to equate the headcrabs as a demonic possession, and takes it upon himself to liberate his 'flock' through death. Being that he feels that he is "freeing the lost souls" so to speak, he obviously cared much about the refugees fleeing the horrid conditions of City 17.

Grigori appears at various points in Ravenholm, generally standing at a high vantage point from which he proceeds to kill the various zombies in the areas below. Zombies seem to prefer to attack the player when given the choice, except during the final sequence leading up to the mine entrance. Because of the limitations of his weapon, he has to reload frequently, so he is vulnerable to the zombies that can reach his position, such as Fast Zombies, in significant numbers or when operating at ground level.

Like Alyx Vance, Grigori seems to have rapidly regenerating health, making him very hard to kill, so players shouldn't generally need to concern themselves if he is attacked, unless the numbers get too large or explosive weapons are used.

The Father tends only to fire at enemies short to mid-range since his weapon does not have a scope, so he will often fire while retreating back from a zombie if they reach his location. Additionally, while his weapon is very powerful and is capable of killing a zombie in a single shot, it must be reloaded every two shots thus hindering its usefulness against large groups.

Grigori has also rigged a great number of traps throughout Ravenholm, ranging from spinning blades to flaming pits. These traps are able to be used by the player throughout the town to kill zombies to great effect without expending somewhat rare ammunition.

Objects
Grigori wields the powerful Annabelle, and is the only character in the Half-Life series to use it. He fires the gun with great accuracy, almost always hitting the head of the zombie he targets. He seems to have large supplies of munitions and provides Gordon with his first shotgun before directing him to head to the town church. He also advises the player to aim for the zombie's head to kill them quickly.

Behind the scenes
"Grigori" is a variant of Grigoriy, the Russian form of "Gregory", coming from "Gregorius", from late Greek name "Gregorios", derived from "gregoros", meaning "watchful, alert", which fits him well. This name was popular among early Christians, being borne by a number of important saints. It may also be a reference to the Grigori, the "Watchers", a group of fallen angels from the biblical apocrypha who were originally dispatched by God to watch over mankind and ended up mating with mortal women.

Trivia

 * On entering the mines at the end of Ravenholm, running through the door, then running back out again, will show Father Grigori in the flames, infinitely laughing and fighting off zombies.


 * It seems that Grigori minds being alone because if the player dies he will say "Yet again I am alone" in a saddened tone.


 * Grigori's nationality, religion, and somewhat eccentric personality could also be a reference to Grigori Rasputin, a Russian mystic who was known as the "Mad Monk". Rasputin was also famous for his ability to survive; the circumstances in which he finally did die becoming legendary (consuming food and wine laced with enormous amounts of cyanide, being shot in the back four times, being clubbed, and in some reports castrated, before finally drowning after being bound in a carpet and thrown into the Neva River).


 * There are two crucifixes visible behind each of Father Grigori's hands. The crosses appear to be burnt or cut into his skin, and likely inflicted by Grigori himself.


 * Despite what many believe, Grigori's weapon is not loaded with buckshot. A shot fired from his weapon will leave one bullet hole. It uses .357 caliber rounds which explains its accuracy and its deadly firepower. However, the caliber is still ambiguously canon since it is never meant to actually be used, and may have been a placeholder.


 * If Grigori dies, the player can use his weapon, Annabelle, briefly before the "game over" message comes up. Unfortunately, it has too many glitches to be of any use, and does not even have its own view model or icon.


 * Grigori's line about his traps being "the work of a man who once had too much time on his hands and now only finds time for the work of salvation." hints to the possibility that Grigori may have crowned himself as a priest after the shelling of the town rather than already having been a priest beforehand.
 * He could, however, be talking in the third person about himself. Grigori, before hand, saw Ravenholm abandoned (too much time on his hands), then his new residents turned into zombies. Grigori now sees the zombies as unliberated souls, and now only works to save them, i.e. killing them (work of salvation).


 * Jim French, who voices Grigori, also voiced Bill from Left 4 Dead and the Fisherman from Half-Life 2: Lost Coast.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2
 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar