History Characters / HalfLifeSupportingCharacters

* ForWantOfANail: The situation was already bad for Gordon when he got off the train, but Lamarr actively makes it worse. When he's about to be teleported to Black Mesa East, Lamarr jumps into the teleporter too and causes it to go haywire. Gordon inadvertently teleports in and out of Dr. Breen's office as a result, leading to City 17 being put on high alert and the entire Civil Protection force going after Gordon and tearing apart the Resistance's UndergroundRailroad while they're at it. All because Kleiner didn't decide to leave Lamarr caged up for the experiment.

The only surviving resident of Ravenholm and a strange man that Gordon encounters on his journey. Very little is known about him other than that he's a [[AmbiguouslyChristian Eastern Orthodox-like]] preacher of questionable sanity who has taken it upon himself to clear his "[[ZombieApocalypse flock]]" from Ravenholm.

-> Voice Actors: John Patrick Lowrie and Mary Kae Irvin (English) [[note]]'''Other Languages''': Tony Beck and Cécile Hopkins (French), Silvio D'Alessandro and Alletta Lawson (German), Min Noh and Yeo Min-jeong (Korean), Boris Isarov and Katarina Burgess (''Half-Life 2''), Dmitry Polonsky and Olga Kuznetsova (Episodes ''One'' and ''Two'') (Russian), Javier Fernández and Pilar Ortí (Spanish)[[/note]]
->''"You smell that? It's freedom."''

-> Voice Actor: Creator/RobertGuillaume (''Half-Life 2'', Episodes ''One'' and ''Two''), Creator/JamesMosesBlack (''Half-Life: Alyx'') (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Philippe Smolikovski (French), Werner Kastor (German), Kwon Hyuk-Soo (Korean), Diran Megreblyan (''Half-Life 2''), Alexander Gruzdev (Episodes ''One'' and ''Two'') (Russian), Luis Soto (Spanish)[[/note]]
->''"I knew if you both stayed together you could get through anything."''

--> '''Eli:''' [[spoiler:She's gone, Gordon... she's gone... [[SuddenlyShouting SON OF A BITCH AND HIS UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCES!]] I knew it! When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna... ''I'm gonna kill him''.]]

->Voice Actor: Harry S. Robins (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Jérôme Berthoud (French), Walter Bohnacker (German), Kim Min-sung (Korean), Sam Yossman (Russian - SDL dub), Dmitry Polonsky (Russian - Buka dub), Carlos Cogul (Spanish)[[/note]]
->''"That's right, Barney. [[TitleDrop This is a red letter day]]. We'll inaugurate the new teleport with a double transmission!"''

-> Voice Actor: Creator/MichelleForbes (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Framboise Gommendy (French), Gertrude Thoma (German), Nam Jeong (Korean), Rita Weisman (''Half-Life 2''), Larisa Grebenshchikova (''Episode One'') (Russian), Azucena Durán (Spanish)[[/note]]
->''"The Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator is not a toy, Alyx!"''

-> Voice Actor: John Aylward (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Walter Bohnacker (German), Andrey Yaroslavtsev (Russian)[[/note]]

->''"Oh, and Freeman! If you pull this off, I might just forgive you for that [[BaitAndSwitch debacle at Black Mesa]]. You know the one I mean – [[BrickJoke involving a certain microwave casserole]]."''

-> Voice Actor: John Patrick Lowrie (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Vyacheslav Shumov (Russian)[[/note]]
->''"Ah! Gordon Freeman! I couldn't have asked for a finer volunteer!"''

-> Voice Actor: Jim French (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Emmanuel Bonami (French), Steffan Boje (German), Min Noh (Korean), Vyacheslav Shumov (Russian), Javier Fernández (Spanish)[[/note]]
->''"I am Father Grigori! [[DeadpanSnarker You have already met my congregation]]."''

* MeaningfulAppearance: Just about every [=NPC=] in the game is wearing black or brown boots. This guy is wearing red sneakers.

-> Voice Actor: Jim French (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Vyacheslav Shumov (Russian)[[/note]]
->''"Not sure what one man can do, but...no other reason to visit St. Olga at a time like this."''

-->'''Sheckley''': Hey, you see a bug on me, how about you try to get it off next time?\\
'''Griggs''': I didn't see it!\\
'''Sheckley''': Yeah, they're only like [[BigCreepyCrawlies five feet tall!]]\\

'''Griggs (After an Antlion attack)''': I got... ten!\\
'''Sheckley''': Yeah well we all got ten, there's hundreds of them!

-> Voice Actor: Rhys Darby (''Half-Life: Alyx'')
->''"I'm with you every step of the way."''

-->'''Russell''': Now, pretty soon they're going to realize that your dad is not going to talk, and when that happens he's off to have his brain sucked out.\\
'''Alyx''': Russell.\\
'''Russell''': Potentially. Maybe not, though. I mean he could- they could just drill into his--\\
'''Alyx''': Stop.

* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], since the company does conduct legitimate research. However, even among its own ranks, the nature and purpose of the research is intentionally obfuscated and classified. Gordon had no idea that the crystal he was handling was from another dimension or used for teleportation research.

* TheRival: To [[Videogame/{{Portal}} Aperture Science]]. The two have engaged in all sorts of sabotage and corporate espionage over the years as they competed for government contracts. Writers Faliszek and Wolpaw have described the feud as "snobs versus slobs", with Black Mesa being the snobs.

-> '''Voice Actor''': Creator/JonStJohn

-> '''Voice Actor''': Creator/BriceArmstrong

-> Voice Actor: Mike Shapiro

->'''Otis:''' "My mom is gonna worry when I don't make it home tonight!"

->'''Barney:''' "Heh, that'll look nice in my trophy room."
->'''Otis:''' "Hmm, I'd love to hang that over my fireplace! Y'know, if I had one."

->'''Otis:''' "Oh no, I'm not fat! I'm just what you call "big boned.""

->'''Otis:''' "I don't wanna die a virgin."''

->'''Otis:''' "Fighting aliens is not in my job description!"

!!!'''Appearances:''' ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' | ''VideoGame/HalfLifeOpposingForce'' | ''VideoGame/HalfLifeBlueShift'' | ''VideoGame/HalfLifeDecay'' | ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' | ''Half-Life 2: Episode One'' | ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two'' | [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'']]

-->'''G-Man''': I admit I have a fascination with those who adapt and survive against all odds. They rather remind me of myself.

-->'''G-Man''': I wish I could do more than keep an eye on you, but I have agreed to abide by certain... restrictions.

** He's always supportive when talking to Gordon, but [[spoiler: his conversation with Alyx reveals that he's extremely dismissive of his performance. As soon as he finds a suitable replacement, he fires Gordon without a word.]]

-->'''G-Man''': When I ''-plucked-'' her from Black Mesa... I acted in the face of objections that she was a mere child and of no practical use to anyone. I have learned to ignore such ''-naysayers-'' when... ''quelling''... them, hm, was out of the question.

-->'''Nihilanth''': '''''Deceive you... he will deceive you...'''''

-->'''G-Man''': The biggest embarrassment has been Black Mesa facility, but I think that's finally taken care of itself...''[Black Mesa explodes in a [[NukeEm nuclear blast]] in the background.]'' Quite so.

* MeaningfulName: "Grigori" is a term in Biblical apocrypha for a group of angels tasked with watching over humanity as well as the name of [[UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin another famous Russian preacher]] who was supposedly [[RasputinianDeath very hard to kill]].

The only surviving resident of Ravenholm and a strange man that Gordon encounters on his journey. Very little is known about him other than that he's a [[AmbiguouslyChristian Russian Orthodox-like]] preacher of questionable sanity who has taken it upon himself to clear his "[[ZombieApocalypse flock]]" from Ravenholm.

* AllThereInTheManual: His name is not mentioned in-game, instead being written down in supplementary material for Decay.

* CorruptedCharacterCopy: He is this to Barney/generic security guard. A handful of quotes are even parodies of the usual guard ones.
->'''Security Guard:''' "Heh, that'll look nice in my trophy room."
->'''Otis:''' "Hmm, I'd love to hang that over my fireplace! Y'know, if I had one."

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In Opposing Force, the first Otis encountered is first done so as he's reaching into a broken vending machine trying to grab snacks.

* NoNameGiven: As noted above, his name is only mentioned in the [[AllThereInTheManual Decay manual]].

** On the other hand, there are many signs that [[spoiler:the Combine were ''pants-shittingly terrified'' of him.]] They went to the trouble of [[spoiler:building an enormous, space-bending ship that was larger than a city block, and ''executing anyone who even glimpsed it'' - all for the sole purpose of containing the G-man. It still wasn't enough. When Alyx frees him, he's merely... waiting, with the aura of someone who knows he won't be locked up for long. He then proceeds to lend some ability to Alyx that allows her to OneHitKill an ''Advisor,'' one of the absolute top dogs of the Combine Empire.]] In summary, he casually demonstrates that he can potentially completely dismantle the strongest efforts the Combine could possibly make, at least on Earth, without even having to dirty his hands personally. [[spoiler:When Alyx asks for ‘the Combine off Earth, he seems merely bemused, but he does describe the notion as a ‘particularly large nudge’. Whether this means it would be a big effort for him, or simply go against the wishes of his Employers, is not clear. In any case, he does not seem to fear the Combine in the slightest.]]

** On the other hand, there are many signs that [[spoiler:the Combine were ''pants-shittingly terrified'' of him.]] They went to the trouble of [[spoiler:building an enormous, space-bending ship that was larger than a city block, and ''executing anyone who even glimpsed it'' - all for the sole purpose of containing the G-man. It still wasn't enough. When Alyx frees him, he's merely... waiting, with the aura of someone who knows he won't be locked up for long. He then proceeds to lend some ability to Alyx that allows her to OneHitKill an ''Advisor,'' one of the absolute top dogs of the Combine Empire.]] In summary, he casually demonstrates that he can potentially completely dismantle the strongest efforts the Combine could possibly make, at least on Earth, without even having to dirty his hands personally. [[spoiler:When Alyx asks for ‘the Comibne of Earth, he seems merely bemused, but he does describe the notion as a ‘particularly large nudge’. Whether this means it would be a big effort for him or simply go against the wishes of his Employers is not clear. In any case, he does not seem to fear the Combine in the slightest.]]

** On the other hand, there are many signs that [[spoiler:the Combine were ''pants-shittingly terrified'' of him.]] They went to the trouble of [[spoiler:building an enormous, space-bending ship that was larger than a city block, and ''executing anyone who even glimpsed it'' - all for the sole purpose of containing the G-man. It still wasn't enough. When Alyx frees him, he's merely... waiting, with the aura of someone who knows he won't be locked up for long. He then proceeds to lend some ability to Alyx that allows her to OneHitKill an ''Advisor,'' one of the absolute top dogs of the Combine Empire.]] In summary, he casually demonstrates that he can potentially completely dismantle the strongest efforts the Combine could possibly make, at least on Earth, without even having to dirty his hands personally.

* AcidPool: Leaks of radoactive and toxic are shockingly common. Worse yet, parts of the facility are entirely flooded with ''[[Webvideo/FreemansMindSpinoffs electrified]]'' [[Webvideo/FreemansMindSpinoffs toxic waste]].

* AcidPool: Leaks of radoactive and toxic are shockingly common. Worse yet, parts of the facility are entirely flooded with [[Webvideo/FreemansMindSpinoffs ''electrified'']] [[Webvideo/FreemansMindSpinoffs toxic waste]].

* AcidPool: Leaks of radoactive and toxic are shockingly common. Worse yet, parts of the facility are entirely flooded with [[Webvideo/FreemansMindSpinoffs ''electrified'' toxic waste]].

* ItsAllMyFault: The quote above from ''Episode 2'' implies that Eli at least partially blames himself for the Resonance Cascade and the subsequent Combine Invasion.

[[caption-width-right:206:''"You know who I'm talking about. Our mutual friend."'']]

* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: Prior to ''Half-Life 2'', the rebel base of Ravenholm is bombarded to hell with Headcrab Shells. This results in the utter destruction of the base, turning it into a [[ForbiddenZone largely zombie-infested area]]. Things only get worse when the Combine is alerted to Gordon's presence. The entire underground canal network that was designed to help smuggle refugees to Black Mesa East is quickly destroyed, the well-fortified main base of Black Mesa East is overrun shortly after Gordon's arrival and several outposts along the Coast are taken over by the Combine. Only the coastal New Little Odessa, Shorepoint Base and Lighthouse Point are left in Rebel hands. The Combine also try to attack the White Forest base in ''Episode Two'’, but [[TheHero Gordon]] is there to repel their attack.

* UndergroundRailroad: A loose network of Rebel-controlled stations and safehouses in the Canals of City 17 served as the only way refugees could safely escape to Black Mesa East prior to Kleiner inventing the teleport. Gordon's arrival and Breen being alerted to his presence leads to said railroad being flooded with Manhacks and Civil Protection Officers, resulting in it being completely destroyed.

->"A reminder to all Black Mesa Personnel: Regular radiation and biohazard screenings are a requirement of continued employment in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Missing a scheduled urinalysis or radiation check-up is grounds for immediate termination."
-->-- Black Mesa Announcement System

An American research corporation residing within the desert of New Mexico. It is the main setting of Half-Life and its expansions.

* TheRival: To [[Videogame/Portal Aperture Science]]. The two have engaged in all sorts of sabotage and corporate espionage over the years as they competed for government contracts. Writers Faliszek and Wolpaw have described the feud as "snobs versus slobs", with Black Mesa being the snobs.

* EarlyBirdCameo: He is one of the many scientists overseeing Barney Calhoun during his training. Could also count as CaptainObviousReveal since he has a unique model and the other scientists share the same models.

* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: It's not quite clear what his expertise is. [[AllThereInTheMenual The manual]] mentions him being briefed by Gina on workings of the Anti-Mass Spectromerer, suggesting that, like Kleiner, his main field is physics. However, he is also apparently studying Xenian fauna in the Sector E Biodome complex, which means he is also a biologist to some extent.

* OmnidisciplionaryScientist: His expertise seems to be physics, but he is apparently responsible for the creation of the Mark V HEV suit, suggesting knowledge of mechanics as well. Somewhat [JustifiedTrope justified]] as he did have 20 years to get aquainted with the field.

* OmnidisciplionaryScientist: It's not quite clear what his expertise is. [[AllThereInTheMenual The manual]] mentions him being briefed by Gina on workings of the Anti-Mass Spectromerer, suggesting that, like Kleiner, his main field is physics. However, he is also apparently studying Xenian fauna in the Sector E Biodome complex, which means he is also a biologist to some extent.

* MeaningfulName: Judith's is a cognate with [[BookOfGenesis Juda]]/[[TheFourGospels Judas]]. Consider that Gordon Freeman is hailed as a MessianicArchetype by the Vortigaunts, and it becomes clear that she cannot be trusted.

* MeaningfulName: Judith's name sounds a lot like Judas. Consider that Gordon Freeman is hailed as a MessianicArchetype by the Vortigaunts, and it becomes clear that she cannot be trusted.

-> Voice Actor: Jim French (English)

* CovertGroupWithaMundaneFront: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], since the company does conduct legitimate research. However, even among its own ranks, the nature and purpose of the research is intentionally obfuscated and classified. Gordon had no idea that the crystal he was handling was from another dimension or used for teleportation research.

* CovertGroupWithAMundaneFront: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], since the company does conduct legitimate research. However, even among its own ranks, the nature and purpose of the research is intentionally obfuscated and classified. Gordon had no idea that the crystal he was handling was from another dimension or used for teleportation research.

!!Black Mesa Staff

-> Voice Actor: Mike Shapiro

->''"So, do you guys train for alien combat, or is this just a special occasion?"''

->'''Otis:''' "Oh no, I'm not fat! I'm just what you call "big boned.""''

->'''Otis:''' "Fighting aliens is not in my job description!"''

->'''Otis:''' "Oh no, I'm not fat! I'm just what you call "big boned.""]]''

->'''Otis:''' "I don't wanna die a virgin."]]''

->'''Otis:''' "Fighting aliens is not in my job description!"]]''

''"Oh no, I'm not fat! I'm just what you call "big boned.""]]''

''"I don't wanna die a virgin."]]''

''"Fighting aliens is not in my job description!"]]''