Bardur

>
> Surviving the harsh eternal winter of the Bardur woods is not an easy task, but Bardur seems to thrive here.
>
>
>
> –Tribe description
>

**Bardur** is the third tribe in Polytopia. It is a free regular tribe, and it starts with the Hunting technology.

Bardur is an economically powerful tribe throughout the whole game. Bardur's ability to upgrade their capital on turn 0 gives it a strong start, and its resource distribution towards increased forests and animals means Bardur cities will have a very easy time getting to higher levels even with just researching Forestry. Overall, Bardur is a strong pick in almost any scenario, and is an easy tribe to both learn and play.

## Resources

Bardur has 1.5x fruit, and no crop.\*

\*If forced in a 121 tile map, surrounding tribes can affect the spawn rate of crop in the capital city.

## Lore

>
> It takes brave and strong people to make a home in a land of endless snow, but like the tall trees, the Bardur thrive. Mighty hunters with a knack for making a wonderful meal out of the most terrible beasts, the Bardur are known for their skills in survival.
>
>
>
> –Zoythrus on Steam
>

### Tribe Celebrations

* 2020 Tribe Moon: The process of choosing the next Bardur Jarl is simple, they choose candidates and roll a dice. Bardurians believe the will of the gods is best found in circumstances of chance and chaos, such as the heat of battle.
* 2021 Tribe Moon: Killing a Baerion is already difficult, but what about the crazy souls who dress up like one, sneak into their lairs, and attempt to kill them with their "bear" hands? This, and other impossible challenges, make up the initiation into the Baergøffoz, the Bardur's elite fighting force.
* 2022 Tribe Moon: Living in Barduria is hard, with constant blizzards and Baerion attacks a regular occurrence, but that doesn't mean it's devoid of luxuries. This harsh tundra is home to a chain of hot springs that the Bardur like to use to unwind after a long day of braving the perils of their snowy home.
* 2023: Blizzard season is right around the corner, and the small Bardurian village of Gruark is preparing to usher in the brutal cold with their Førgul Festival! There will be singing, dancing, and plenty of Ulefurgh before everyone's stuck inside for a while.

### Webshop

* A Bærion in the wild is not to be played with, but if you ever manage to get close enough, [a] special comb is your only chance to tame it into a reliable warrior companion. Take a firm grip of the ear (preferably the left one), tug it gently three times backwards, and if you haven't been eaten by then, you will have a faithful companion for life.
* In Barduria, children go through a prestigious ritual in order to become a respected member of their community. The ritual includes a cold forest, a bunch of wild Bærians, and a tent. Most of them never make it back home. Instead, the Bærians grow big and fat and are enjoyed both as a tasty feast and [as] a great warrior companion.
* Pine needles, hot water, and rabbit fat are all you need to make Ullefurgh, the favourite beverage of the Bardur youth. Ullefurgh is traditionally drunk from cups made of Bærion fangs.

### Other

* Instagram: And just when you thought you were safe, the Bardur jumps out of the woods, dressed in wet bear furs and faces smeared with blueberry jam.

## Strategy

*Main article: Bardur/Strategy*
When playing as Bardur, the best strategy in the first turn is almost always to hunt wild animals and take out your warrior. Have another warrior look around in the following direction. Then invest in organization or forestry to upgrade the villages to higher levels.

## Inspiration

The Bardur share many cultural aspects with the Scandinavian "Viking" cultures. They are ruled by a jarl, which is a title historically given to medieval Scandinavian nobility. Their wooden and stone architecture also resemble buildings used by those peoples during that time period. Their horned helmets also resemble those attributed to Vikings in popular culture. May elements of their biome (pine trees, bears) are also things native to Scandinavia.

## Design

* Fruit: Øgelfuss Berries (blueberries)
* Animal: Bærion (plural: Bærians)
* Field: Fields covered in white snow
* Forest: Pine trees
* Mountain: Snowy white mountains
* City: Wooden blocks with orange lights, skulls as decoration, and either black or grassy roofs
* Helmet: Horned helmet

### City Naming Syllables

ark, bu, fla, gru, gu, lak, lin, ork, rø, tof, ur

### Music

Links to Bardur's music are included below.

* Theme
* Nature Sounds
* Polytopia Music song: "Yrmil Grøl" by The Bardur Quartet
* Baergøff Theme

## Skins

### Baergøff Skin

>
> The Baergøff are the Bardur's elite hunters. Clad in the sanctified pelt of their first Baerion kill, they're ready for anything!
>
>
>
> –Baergøff skin description
>

    The Baergøff skin was added in the first skin pack for Polytopia. Instead of the horned hat, Baergøff units wear a pelt of the Baerion, the Bardur animal.

* The city buildings are similar to the original ones, except every module has a grassy sod roof.
* Warriors and Riders use bear claws as weapons instead of clubs.
* The Giant has a pelt draped around itself, as well as bear paw shoes.
* The Archers use and throw wooden spears instead of a bow and arrow (they originally mistakenly still had a quiver, but this has since been fixed.)

#### History

When it was first introduced in beta, the splash for the Baergøff skin was referred to as Baerion instead of Baergøff. This was changed with the skin's public release, but the Baerion name is still found in some files.

## Trivia

* In update 1.13.2, the Bardur theme was changed, adding a melody line over the "old theme." Midjitone, the sound designer of Polytopia, stated that the melody was present in the original version of the theme, but it was removed prior to the initial release of the game for some reason.
* The original in-game description of Bardur read, "Surviving the harsh eternal winter of *Barduria*...". "Barduria" was changed to "the Bardur woods," perhaps due to copyright issues.
* In update 2.2.0.7406, Bardur's color was changed from   (#000000) (black) to   (#232323) (dark gray), and then to   (#352514) for increased clarity on certain displays. Accordingly, the names of Bardur's "leaders" were also changed, as they are randomly generated based on the tribe color.

## References

1. ↑ Bærion phone case
2. ↑ Bardur Tee
3. ↑ Bardur mug
4. ↑ Midjitone on Reddit
5. ↑ Zoythrus on private Discord chat: "It's simple, the game seeds a random name generator with the hex color, so when we changed the color, we got a new name / Bulak is dead. Long live Linlin!"