Originally Posted by
jqavins
Post apocalyptic, post-post apocalyptic, or post-post-post-post-post apocalyptic, it still assumes some sort of apocalypse in the past, which has never been the way in any of my settings. And they are not in some golden age, either. They are in an age of slow but steady progress, with new spells, new items, better metallurgy, etc. It's not a golden age now any more than it ever was. Powerful magic items are scarce now and always have been because the super powerful mages who create them are scarce and are not all interested in crafting anyway. "Artifacts" are creations of the gods who don't give them to the mortal realm more then once every century or two (or are made by people and creatures of similar power who don't coma along often and see above about the mages.) So things are largely as they've been for centuries, with a bit of progress here and there. And over millennia the progress adds up, to leave the inventor of arcane magic behind.