Grigori


 * "I am Father Grigori... You have already met my... congregation... Ah hah ha ha ha!" - 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.

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 You are my light, my strength and my savior." "They" seems to be an oblique reference to Black Mesa East's inhabitants. As such, he seems to be Resistance-friendly but is not a member himself, instead preferring to fight a one man war against the zombies of Ravenholm.

Appearance & Capabilities
Father Grigori is a middle-aged man with a shaven head; he dresses in traditional embroidered clothing and chuck sneakers covered with headcrab ooze. He is mentally unhinged, and can be heard ranting, uttering disjointed biblical references and laughing manically while hunting zombies in Ravenholm.

Grigori wields the powerful Annabelle Lever-Action Rifle, 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.

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.

Tactics
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 you are considering use of explosives (grenades, SMG secondary fire).

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.

Fate
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 probably obliterated Ravenholm as well. It is not impossible that he escaped during a lull in the fighting, 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.

Trivia

 * The name Grigori (Григо́рий) is common in Russia. It derives from Greek egrḗgoroi, 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.
 * Strangely enough, in Garry's Mod, Father Grigori is in the "Animals" section in the NPC spawnlist, this was revealed later by the creator Garry that it was a running joke
 * Despite what many believe, Grigori's weapon may not be a shotgun at all. A shot fired from his weapon will leave one bullet hole, suggesting he may load it with solid shotgun slugs, which explains why he uses it sparringly in close quarters. It could also use bullets from a 357 which would explain its accuracy, its deadly firepower, and why its shots are pooled with that of a 357. Annabelle resembles an old western Winchester or Henry rifle.