The why of roads

If you come across a road that's not marked on your map, all you really know about it is that leads to, or from, some place that people wanted to be.

This road leads to:

1. A city
2. The coast
3. A market town
4. A keep
5. A ruin
6. A demihuman community

It's a:

1. Paved military road
2. Graveled trade road
3. Muddy parallel wheel ruts left by farm carts
4. Trampled grassy track cleared of trees
5. Forgotten and badly-maintained highway
6. Raised wooden boards above marshland

It passes:

1. Through the foothills of a mountain range, winding between the peaks
2. Along the bank of a fast and wide river
3. Across bare ground at the border of a desert
4. Along the edge of coastal cliffs where heavy waves break on rocks at the base down below
5. Through dense woodland where sunlight never penetrates to the forest floor
6. Through a deep valley that reduces the range of vision and hampers lookouts

A standout feature is:

1. Toll houses a day's ride apart
2. Guard posts garrisoned to hunt bandits and highwaymen
3. Robber gangs preying on traveling merchants
4. Coach inns of varying quality
5. A section cut through a dangerous forest
6. Tales of ghostly riders

 The most frequent travelers are:

1. Mail coaches crewed by tough and well-armed drivers
2. Merchants driving covered wagons full of wares for trade
3. Farmers delivering produce to nearby communities
4. Pilgrims visiting holy sites
5. Companies of soldiers relocating to new duties
6. Traveling entertainers

Travelers should watch out for:

1. Shopkeepers inflating prices for out-of-towners
2. Wild animals
3. Squads of fighters from two different factions who each claim jurisdiction over the road
4. Monsters
5. Weather that makes the road impassable
6. Slavers and military press gangs