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RULE UPDATES FOR MERGE
Now that the merge is finally upon us, there are some new rules that need to be explained. These rules are for the benefit of those people who may have seen the show ... as well as for the benefit of those who may have not. Some rules may be slightly different than those on the CBS show, so you are urged to read them carefully. Please post any questions you may have in this Game Play thread, and I will answer them as soon as I can.
The Merge
Now that there are just eight people remaining in the game, the tribes will merge and become one. As you know, you are all now in the "MINSTRELS" Tribe. The PETROLEUM JOE and SQUID HAT tribes are no longer relevant. However, keep in mind that members of the former tribes may already be in alliances. It will be to your advantage to find out as much as you can about any possible alliances. This should be done through PMs.
From now until the end of the game, you will be competing individually. Although you are a tribe, your individual goal is to knock out all the other players and become the Sole Survivor.
Immunity Challenges
The Immunity Challenges will now be individual. The Survivor who wins the challenge will receive INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY, which means that that Survivor is the only one not eligible to be voted out during the Tribal Council that follows.
Each of you will work on the challenges independently. However, don't be surprised if you see former tribe mates or members of alliances helping each other out at times.
Once the challenge is over and the winner is declared, we will start the Tribal Council Chat. The Survivor who won Immunity will be given the option to either keep the Immunity for him/herself or give it to someone else of their choosing. The Survivor may also choose to give up his/her Immunity and give it to NO ONE; if A Survivor chooses this option, the Survivor will be granted an extra vote to use at the next Tribal Council!
The Survivor winning the Challenge must decide and post his/her decision within an hour of winning the Challenge, so that Tribal Council can begin soon afther the Challenge's end. If a Survivor does not post his/her decision in the Game Play Thread within that hour, that Survivor will be presumed to have decided to keep Immunity, and this CANNOT be changed. Remember, if you choose to give up your Immunity, you WILL be eligible for votes at Tribal Council, and once posted in the Game Play thread, this decision CANNOT BE REVERSED.
Please also note: Due to periods of absenses noted by a few Survivors in some previous Weird Al Survivor seasons, a new rule will be in effect in this game. From this point on, any Survivor who misses three Challenges in a row will be eliminated from the game and replaced with the Survivor voted out in the Immunity Challenge immediately preceding the currently playing Challenge.
Reward Challenges
Throughout the last few weeks of the competition, there also will be a few "Reward Challenges". These will actually be combination Reward & Immunity Challenges. The person who wins the Challenge will win Immunity ... AND they will also receive the Reward [unless otherwise specified in a particular Challenge's Rules]. I cannot reveal at this point what the Rewards will be, but trust me ... they will be worth playing for.
If you win a combination Reward/Immunity Challenge, you will have the option of giving away your Reward, your Immunity, both, or keeping both for yourself. That decision is yours alone, but again the decision cannot be reversed once you have posted your choice in the Game Play Thread. Remember, if you give up Immunity, you will be eligible to receive votes at Tribal Council, which could send you packing.
Tribal Council
Tribal Council procedures will be the same as they have been previously, with a few notable exceptions.
1) It is very important that you do not start voting until the Tribal Council announcement has been posted, since the Immunity winner may want to give away the Immunity AND because there may be special rules or directions for specific Tribal Councils.
2) Since there is only one tribe, the entire tribe will be voting at each and every Tribal Council.
3) As always, in the event of a tie, the person with the most previous votes will be voted out of the tribe. If the previous votes are tied, we will hold a "Sudden Death" trivia contest in the chat room.
The Jury
Starting with the sixth Tribal Council, each person voted out of the tribe will become a JUROR and will gradually form the JURY. It is the JURY who will ultimately decide the winner of the competition. If you are in the Jury, it will be your responsibility to continue to keep watching the game. Watch what's going on and who's saying/doing what. Ultimately, their actions and game play will help you determine whom you want to win.
IMPORTANT: Jury members are NOT allowed to communicate with the people who are still in the game. You may not ask them questions or communicate with them at all through PMs. Communication outside of these threads that does not relate to the game, of course, is fine. Jury Members: If any currently active Tribe member tries to contact you via PM while you serve on the Jury in order to "make a deal" or try to convince you that you should vote for them at any time, please report them to me immediately.
If a previously elected Juror has become inactive in the Forum and is not present to participate the Final Tribal COuncil, that Juror will be replaced by the person voted out in the FIFTH Tribal Council [the one JUST BEFORE the Jury began to be formed]. If two Jurors are inactive, they will be replaced by the Survivors voted out in the FOURTH and FIFTH Tribal Councils.
When there are 5 people in the Jury, after the TENTH Tribal Council, the power transfers from the Tribe Members to the Jury.
Deciding the Winner
Once we are down to 2 final Survivors and 5 Jurors, the eleventh and final deciding Tribal Council begins. Now, at this point, the JURY takes control of the game, and the Survivors must depend on them to win. This is often also the point where a Survivor's past decisions may return to haunt them. Here's how it will work.
Each Juror will come up with a question they would like to ask the 2 remaining players, or Finalists. They can ask the same question to both, or ask different questions to each Finalist. These questions can be about whatever you like -- how that person played the game, why one person betrayed their alliance with someone else, how one Finalist played differently than the other Finalist, etc. Use your questioning to help you get information that will help you make your decision. The Jurors will then PM their questions to me. I will put all the questions into two questionnaires, one for each Finalist. The questionnaires will include all of the 5 questions and who asked them. I will post the questionnaires in the Game Play thread for all to read.
Each of the two Finalists must then respond to his or her questionnaire by the designated time. Each Finalist should answer the questions to the best of their ability. When finished, each Finalist will post their answers in the Game Play thread for all jurors to read. If a Finalist does not complete and post his/her answers by the designated time deadline, that Finalist will still be in the game, but a lack of answers will likely significantly hurt that person's chances of winning votes at Tribal Council.
In addition to the questions, the Finalists must also post a Final Plea, explaining why each deserves to win the game. You may use this Final Plea to clarify any statements which came out at Tribal Council, or to give any other points in your defense that may not have come out during the questioning.
Once BOTH Finalists have posted their answers and their Final Pleas, I will make an announcement for Jurors to begin voting. Jurors will send me their decision via PM. IMPORTANT: REMEMBER, FOR THIS TRIBAL COUNCIL, UNLIKE THE TEN OTHERS PREVIOUS TO THAT TRIBAL COUNCIL, YOUR VOTE WILL BE *NOT* FOR THE PERSON YOU WANT VOTED OFF, BUT FOR THE PERSON YOU *WANT* TO SEE WIN THE GAME!! Once ALL of the Juror votes are in, I will tally the votes.
The Sole Survivor
Finally, at a designated Tribal Council chat time, I will read the votes. The Finalist with the majority of votes in their favor wins the game of Weird Al Survivor 3. That person will be crowned "SOLE SURVIVOR". They will be given access to their own exclusive "Survivor 3 Champion Avatar" to use as long as they like, and they will be awarded a special GRAND PRIZE!! [No, not a million dollars like on the CBS show, I'm afraid ... but something you WILL think it is TOTALLY COOL ...].
After the game is over, the champion and I will arrange the details of mailing their prize to him/her via PM. A few parting shots ... er, words ... and the game of Survivor 3 will come to a close.
Clear as mud, Survivors??
Then, let's get to it!!
We'll see you on THURSDAY JULY 29TH at 8:00 PM EST for your First Individual Immunity Challenge!
See you soon, Survivors!
Doc Probst
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