Grigori

"It is not me you want, but the light that shines through me!"

- 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. Run into the building that leads to the mines, wait for it to load, then run back out. Father Grigori will be in the flames, infinitely laughing, fighting off zombies.

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.

Personality and skills
Grigori is mentally unhinged, and can be heard ranting, uttering disjointed biblical references and laughing manically while hunting zombies in Ravenholm.

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 ar't my light, my strength and my savior." "They" might be an oblique reference to Black Mesa East's inhabitants. He was probably the leader of the Ravenholm refugees, if not the spiritual leader. When his people where turned into zombies, it was probably too much for him to take, so instead of fighing the Combine, he takes it upon himself to liberate his 'flock' from death.

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.

Trivia

 * It does seem that Grigori minds being alone because if the player kills themselves he will say "Yet again I am alone" in a saddened tone.
 * The name Grigori (Григо́рий) is common in Russia. It derives from Greek egr?goroi, which means "watchful" or "vigilant". It may also be a reference to the Grigori, a mythical group of fallen angels.
 * 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.
 * 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 the Annabelle briefly before the game-over message comes up. Unfortunately, it has too many glitches to be of any use, and doesn't even have its own view-model or icon.

List of appearances

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