Board Thread:Season Offers/@comment-1827503-20141217161009

This is not an official bid, as my leave from the ORG community made it impractical for me to host this. I opted to submit this slightly past the deadline so that Kevin would not be forced to put up a "host-less" bid.

Please leave a normal ranking on this bid as if it were official. Keep in mind that you would not be commenting on the host on an official bid!

LOCATION INFO: 
 * Name: Survivor: The Great Lakes
 * Location: This season will take place at Isle Royale National Park, north of Michigan and just a few miles south of the Canadian border. The island of Isle Royale is the largest natural island in Lake Superior and the third-largest in the contiguous United States. (Though the island is entirely within the US, this season's location is considered to be joint US/Canada.)

SEASON INFO: 
 * Castaways: There will be 22 castaways in this season, divided into two tribes of 11 members each.
 * Returnees: To celebrate the milestone 25th season and the 2nd anniversary of Survivor ORG Wiki, there will be four returning contestants on this season, with two returnees (one previous one-timer and one previous two-timer, if possible) on each tribe. No previous Sole Survivors will return.

TWISTS: 
 * Double Vote Talisman: The winner of each individual reward challenge will receive the Double Vote Talisman, allowing them to vote for two tribemates at their next Tribal Council.
 *  Pre-Merge Double Elimination or   Double Tribal Council:  Due to the large size of the cast, two people will be eliminated on the same day at some point before the merge.
 * Tribe Switch: A tribe switch will occur at some point before the merge. The tribe numbers will be balanced at the switch if one tribe has a lead of more than two members.
 *  Loved Ones Challenge:  The re will be a Loved Ones reward challenge at some point during the game.
 *  S urvivor Auction:  There will be a Survivor Auction in lieu of a reward challenge at some point post-merge. The Double Vote Talisman (or a similar item such as the Rings of Duality) will be one of the items offered.
 *  Hidden Immunity Idol:  Hidden Immunity Idols are in play and will be hidden at each tribe's camp on Day 1 . Idols expire after the final six Tribal Council.  <span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;">In addition to the idols, there will be a Double Vote Talisman hidden at the merge. The normal rules apply; the Hidden Double Vote Talisman can only be used at the next Tribal Council.

<p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;">CHANGES: <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;font-style:normal">
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in"> Challenges:  The re will be a mix of challenges new to the ORG and challenges repeated from past seasons . All non-live challenges will have a deadline of at least 24 hours.
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in"> Application Process:  The application form will be created by the bidder. There will be a longer questionnaire than previous newbie applications, in an attempt to remove inactives.
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in"> Inactivity Rule:  If a contestant fails to participate at three consecutive challenges, they will receive a penalty vote at Tribal Council. This vote carries over to the revote, and does  count as a first strike for disqualification purposes. The penalty vote is voided if the contestant participates in a challenge before their next Tribal Council, but the strike remains.
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;">Once a contestant submits a challenge score or vote, it is final and cannot be taken back.
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;page-break-before:auto;">If a contestant wishes to play a Hidden Immunity Idol, they must submit it with their vote. Requests to play the idol are not allowed after the vote has already been submitted, unless the idol was acquired after the submission of the vote.
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;">If a contestant acquires a Hidden Double Vote Talisman after submitting their vote, the talisman does not take effect at that Tribal Council and its effect is delayed until the next Tribal Council.

<p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;">NOTES:
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;font-style:normal">Music in Tribal Council Threads: All Tribal Council threads (including results threads) will include background music.
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;">The nontraditional location for this season is a deliberate attempt to allow the location to play a part in the season, while still avoiding any potential competitive advantages in a native quiz challenge.
 * <p lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom:0in;">The bidder opted to use the newly-created Double Vote Talisman instead of the existing Rings of Duality because of the potential for someone to win multiple Reward Challenges and hold multiple copies of the Rings. Forcing the double-vote to be used immediately prevents this. <ac_metadata title="(UNOFFICIAL) Survivor The Great Lakes - BID"> </ac_metadata>