Savage Worlds (SWADE) Fantasy Companion

So, I have the alpha of the new Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion and some people were asking about it. Without going into excruciating detail, here are my thoughts:

I've only just begun to plumb its depths and I am stoked! It offers 20 new ancestries for characters to choose from, a baker's dozen new hindrances, and well-over 40 brand new edges. If that's your style, it also has suggestions for emulating "classes" from traditional fantasy. Add to this new powers, tons of new gear, new weapons and armor, expanded rules for poisons, traps (and how to use them in-game), information on deities, new magical goodies, setting suggestions, and over 50 foes and you have a tome that is genuinely worthy of its title!

one_gunslinger asked: "How do you think it compares to the Savage Worlds Pathfinder set? Isn't it supposed to be a little more generic fantasy (e.g. build-your-own fantasy world) vs. Golarion-inspired flavor?"

It is very definitely a build-your-own-world set. They have a lot of advice on world-building and the most common fantasy setting tropes (Traditional, Strangers in Strange Lands, Dark Fantasy, High Fantasy, Low Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Nautical Fantasy, Superheroic, Sword & Sorcery, Techno-Fantasy, and Urban Fantasy). Where Savage Pathfinder is set firmly in Golarion, this book is much more generic in nature.

That sounds like a win to me! I'm going to have to pick that up.

Are these Settings Rules a'la conviction, heroes never die, etc?

40 new edges? Oh man--my players are gonna be pumped!

Is it too much of an ask to get a list of what the new arcane backgrounds are? I'm currently building out a Musketeers style fantasy setting with clockwork, nature magic, and airships. I'm thinking I may need to try and grab the Alpha or wait to finish building it out to see what some of these new options/ideas are!

Also, what's your role as an Alpha tester in all of this? Do you get surveys? Do you post feedback in the in house Kickstarter thread(I forget what this is called)?

Yes, they are.
Arcane Backgrounds have been greatly expanded. They include: Alchemist, Bard, Cleric, Diabolist, Druid, Elementalist, Illusionist, Necromancer, Shaman, Sorcerer, Summoner, Tinkerer, Warlock/Witch, and Wizard. Just a guess, but Druid and Tinkerer will be very useful to you for nature magic and clockwork, respectively.
Actually, I'm not a playtester. I received my PDF copy of the alpha because I signed up for the Kickstarter. But yes, they do accept (and request) feedback in the house thread for such.

Heck yeah it'll be. I think I will def just do some more lore stuff then until I get my hands on this as it sounds like mechanics are done for me!

I really am excited for this now, even more so than I was.

By the sounds of this, I am absolutely going to have to get it, it sounds just amazing. I actually had a sort of disappointed interaction with the arcane backgrounds but with that kind of expansion of the rules I think they cover more than enough approaches now. Just, all-in-all this sounds like a whole lot of bang for your buck.

Plus, who doesn't love some good ol' fantasy tropes? I know I do, at least.

When are we playing?