2022 Secret Sophie

[SGHawkins09]

What is Secret Sophie, you ask? 

 

Well, it's a lot like Secret Santa, with a more attractive (albeit more dangerous) delivery person!  (For those not in the know, Sophie the Succubus is Reaper's mascot.)  This is the time of year for Reaper forumites to give a little holiday cheer to each other. 

 

Unlike previous years, this year will only be a miniature and gift exchange. No gift only this time.

 

Signups will run from October 10th until midnight (PST) October 30th, with the assignments going out by the end of November 6th.

 

If you've never done an exchange before, how it works is like this:

• Everyone who is interested PMs me (SGHawkins09) with the questionnaire below filled out by the deadline. 
• The organizer (SGHawkins09) then matches you with a person to whom you will send your gift/mini, and another person from whom you will receive a gift/mini from in return (sometimes it's the same person).
• Halfway through the exchange, you'll need to send the organizers a WIP. 
• You have until the deadline to send your gift/mini out.

This exchange is based on trust.  Please be respectful of the fact that someone else is investing their time, money and energy into painting a mini for you.  I am simply the organizer, but I will do everything I can to make sure that everyone who paints a miniature receives one.

The Rules (tl;dr version)

• Gifts should be primarily new, Reaper-branded presents.
• Fill out the questionnaire below and send it to me via PM.
• You must post a Work In Progress (WIP) image of your mini under a spoiler tag to this thread by December 31st.
• The deadline to mail your items is January 31st.

 

Full Rules

• Decide if you would like to participate in this exchange.
  • Reaper minis are the focus. If you want to paint more than one miniature, you may do so.
  • If you wish to include other gifts for your recipient, you may do so, but please keep them small.  The focus of the exchange should be a Reaper product.
  • "Gifts" could be Reaper paints, unpainted miniatures, or other Reaper painting supplies.  Recommended dollar value of gifts is $25 or less. You could also include food, small gifts, and other holiday related items.
• Fill out all of the questionnaire below and send it to me via PM.  Please fill out the current version of the questionnaire, Please don't just send an old one, as questions may have changed. 
• Please don't contact your partner unless they have listed themselves as okay with contact. I've included it on the questionnaire, so you'll know who wants to keep it secret and who doesn't. 
• You will need to acknowledge your assignment message and/or post or message me that you have selected a miniature by December 1st. Basically, if I do not hear anything from you once the assignments go out, you will be dropped, and your recipient will be reassigned.. I really do not want to do this but there have been too many instances in the past of radio silence once assignments go out. 
• In order to encourage people to start painting early, you will need to post a Work In Progress (WIP) image of your mini under a spoiler tag to this thread by December 31st.  The mini should be at least base-coated by this time.  If you don't post a WIP by this point, I may have to drop you from the exchange.  Please don't make me do this.
• Try really hard to get your miniature out by the deadline.  Let an organizer know if you are going to be late.
• Please post in this thread once you have received your miniature from your partner. We all love seeing what everyone did and it serves as an acknowledgement that you received it.
• In the past some people have wanted to send food - please verify allergens, etc. with your partner before proceeding.
• If you are mailing internationally and plan to send more than just miniatures/paint, you must contact your recipient to get any "bonus items" approved.  We don't want any trouble with customs.  As an example, plant matter or powders can cause a lot of trouble.
• The organizers (SGHawkins09) can help facilitate any anonymous conversations you want to have with your partner.
• Once you have submitted your questionnaire, please make sure to routinely check your messages on the forum as that is the primary mode of communication for this exchange.  Other than sending you your assignment message, I may contact you if your painter has any questions, if they provide a tracking number, and just to check in if you have not posted any progress or have not messaged saying you have shipped your items or if you have not shared that you have received your package. 
• Have fun!

 

Deadlines

• The deadline for acknowledging your assignment is December 1st.
• The deadline for a WIP photo is December 31st.
• The deadline for mailing exchange miniatures is January 31st, but it's even better if you can get them out by Christmas.

 
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Secret Sophie Exchange Questionnaire
 
-Contact Information-
Name:
E-mail:
Address:

 

 

-General Information-

 

-Gift Information: Inbound-
What are you interested in receiving?

Other gift preferences?

-Painted Miniature Information: Outbound-
What can you paint?
What do you like painting the most?

-Painted Miniature Information: Inbound-
What do you want to receive?
What DON'T you want to receive?
What material do you want to receive?
Do you have a particular color scheme in mind?
What style of basing would you prefer?
Please give your partner some inspiration, especially if you have very few preferences above.

-Personal Information-
Will you ship internationally?
Would you be willing to have multiple exchange partners?
Would you like to know who is painting for you before they start painting?
Would you like your partner to know who is painting for them before you start painting?
Is there anybody you would prefer not to paint for?  (please include why)

-Special Requests-
For the organizer, your painter, or your recipient:
 

 

Secret Sophie Exchange Questionnaire - Examples and Notes
 
-Contact Information-
Name:  Forum Guy
Address:  1234 my street .
                  My town, My province or state

                  (Postal code) or (ZIP code)

                  My Country

• Notes: Remember to include your zip code and country. 
• Please format this correctly for your country in case you have an international partner.

 
-Gift Information: Inbound-
What are you interested in receiving? Metal or Bones fantasy monsters 

• Examples: metal/resin/bones, scenic elements, Dark Heaven Legends/Chronoscope/Warlord/Pathfinder/Savage Worlds, paints

 

Other gift preferences? I love peppermint but hate licorice

• Some people like to include other holiday related gifts, this would be were you could not if you like or dislike stuff related to that. Some things that are commonly asked about are candies, cookies, hot chocolate, tea, etc. If you note something here, it is not a guarantee you will get something extra as non Reaper items are optional.

-Painted Miniature Information: Outbound-
What can you paint?  Fantasy PCs or monsters

• Examples: fantasy, sci-fi, monsters, PCs, women, undead, demons, etc

 

What do you like painting the most? bugbears and orcs

• Notes: if possible, the organizers will try to match you up with someone who wants this thing, but if we can't we'll fall back to what you "can" paint

-Painted Miniature Information: Inbound-
What do you want to receive?  Fantasy enemies for my players to fight!  Monsters or human(ish) are both fine.

• Examples: mouslings, necromancers, warriors, dual-wielders, etc

 

What DON'T you want to receive?  No nudity please.  Also, I have plenty of goblins so I don't need more.

• Examples: gross, nudity, undead, kobolds, animals, etc

 

What material do you want to receive?  I'm fine with any material

• Notes: Reaper miniatures come in Bones, resin and metal

 

Do you have a particular color scheme in mind?  No preference.

• Notes: If you're asking for a miniature to be used in army, you can ask your partner to match the colors.

 

What style of basing would you prefer? Plain or basic - I will use these miniatures in my PFRPG games.

• Examples: round or square preference? Unbased, plain base (simple black base), basic base (standard sized base with some scenic elements), or scenic base (fancy base not really suitable for gaming)

 

Please give your partner some inspiration, especially if you have very few preferences above. I'm starting the PFRPG Adventure Path "Jade Regent" soon.  Try painting non-human skin tones.  My favorite color is blue.  "Spring has sprung!"

• Notes: Consider this a non-binding word of inspiration for your partner.  If they're stuck and can't figure out what to paint, maybe this will help them.  No need to repeat your preferences above.  You partner may ignore this question if they already have an idea from the your previously answered questions.
• Examples: Are there any books or movies you've enjoyed recently?  Is there a challenge or technique you'd like your partner to try?  How about some song lyrics or a quote from a book?

-Personal Information-
Will you ship internationally? Yes

• Notes: Be aware that postage costs will be higher than domestic postage.  If you mail internationally, you will need permission from your partner to include other gift items so that we don't run afoul of customs.  Most participants in these exchanges are located in the USA.

 

Would you be willing to have multiple exchange partners? Yes, I love painting!

• Notes: If yes, specify if there is a limit (though it is unlikely we'll ask you to do more than 2)

 

Would you like to know who is painting for you? No

• Examples: Yes, No, No Preference
• Notes: If you say yes, your preference will be communicated to your partner.  It will be up to them to contact you.

 

Would you like your partner to know who is painting for them? No

• Examples: Yes, No, No Preference
• Notes: You can contact them directly to work out details or ask for advice.  We will attempt to match people with similar preferences, but can't guarantee this is the case.
•  

Is there anybody you would prefer not to paint for?  (please include why)    I painted for johndoe123 in the last miniature exchange.

• Notes:  If you like to paint for a variety of different people, you can list those you've painted for in the past.  We will do our best to pair you with someone new.  Another situation is that you know certain people in real life, and would prefer to paint for someone you don't know.

 
 

[Inarah]

Somehow I missed this back on Monday, but I'll get you a PM with requisite info 'soon!"

 

Thanks for organizing this. 

 

 

[Auberon]

And sent.

[buckyball]

I have also sent a private message

[Auberon]

It's been pretty quiet here.  Do you have enough participants for this to work or do we need to have someone like @Reaper_Jon page the discord?

[SGHawkins09]

2 hours ago, Auberon said:

It's been pretty quiet here.  Do you have enough participants for this to work or do we need to have someone like @Reaper_Jon page the discord?

We have four participants so far, five if I decide to jump in. It’s doable with that many but I would like at least a few more. I think I will message him about it. I am part of the discord but I think it would be better if he or someone else posted about it. 

[Pochi]

I have been moving and did not see this. I will send my form in this evening.

[rubegon]

I’m in, although my painted mini likely won’t go out until around the end of Feb 2023.

 

We’re moving to a different country at the end of the year, so I probably won’t be doing much painting until we get settled into our new home.

 

I’ll send my questionnaire in a bit!

[Reaper_Jon]

I will post it on our socials! 

[Skiesclear]

I'm in!  Thanks for the discord note.  I don't check here as often as I should.

[fanguad]

So glad to see this is still going!  Thanks for picking up the torch @SGHawkins09 and posting it on Discord @Reaper_Jon.  I don't check the forums anymore since notifications stopped working for me, so thanks for the link

 

I am definitely in.

Edited October 28, 2022 by fanguad

[Gildesa]

This sounds so fun! I’m in. Just messaged you my copy of the questionnaire. 

[Sabre Fel]

Just made the deadline.

 

[Inarah]

Thanks for the reminder. Just got mine in, too. 

 

 

[SamuraiJack]

Sent.. we'll see how painting goes with half of my good eye not working 🙂  Maybe I'll have my grandkids paint them, might be better 😉