History Main / AgeOfReptiles

See Also, AdventuresInTheBible, due to the world before Noah's Flood commonly being depicted like this by creationists.

The decline of the Age of Reptiles and beginning of that of the warm-blooded species tends to be caused by a number of recurring factors. The reptiles are often portrayed as ponderous in personality, and slow to innovate and breed; this often allows the mammal races to outnumber, outcompete and displace them. Global cooling making the world more inhospitable to cold-blooded beings is also a common factor. Occasionally, a more elaborate disaster may have brought about the end of the Age of Reptiles, in which case this may overlap with PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs. Regardless, the rulers of the Age of Reptiles rarely vanish entirely, and often hang on in {{Vestigial Empire}}s and {{Lost World}}s tucked in scattered corners of the land, clinging on to scraps of their former glories and scheming against the upstart warm-bloods.

Depending on the setting in question, the modern age will be ruled by humans, {{Demihuman}}s such as elves, dwarves and orcs, mammalian {{Beast M|an}}en, BirdPeople or any combination thereof. During the earlier Age of Reptiles, the world was instead dominated by LizardFolk, SnakePeople, dragons, or similar reptilian beings, with the occasional MeekMesozoicMammal making a minor appearance. Dinosaurs of varying levels of accuracy are also a common element, both as wildlife and as sapient beings themselves. In particular, SnakePeople and LizardFolk are very popular choices for fantasy {{Precursors}}, often being portrayed as civilizations that were ancient and declining when the oldest warm-blooded empires were still young. Elements of OneMillionBC are often mixed into this, and during this period the world was typically warm, tropical, and lush. At least some of the fauna will be portrayed as {{Prehistoric Monster}}s.