D&D 5E Trade Road Name

[rgoodbb]

Hi Folks

I need a commodity to name after an old disused trade road ala Spice Road or Silk Road etc.

It does not need to be as exotic as Dragon Sales or the like. Just something for the D&D world that would be tradable but important to some. It could be something as mundane as Salt for the Salt Road etc.

As usual, I invite silly ideas as well as the sensible ones that will help me out.

Lend me your thoughts!

Ta.

 

[Zardnaar]

Shadow Road? Trade route to the Underdark.

Otherwise a creature eg Dragon Way (couldn't trade until Dragons got cleared).

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

If you've fully integrated magic as part of the setting, then armies will certainly have spellcasters attached, and fireball will be the equivalent or artillery. What about a guano road, which this commodity only produced in a specific, huge bat cave or a bird-covered island ? Many political players would be sure to have strategic reserves of the thing, and if you rule that guano has an expiration date for fireballing purpose they'd need to restock on a regular basis. I'd classify that as semi-silly only. Disuse would result from the adoption of arcane focus over components by the militaries of the world.

If you want a more mundane choice, remember that transportation costs makes it infeasible to haul cheap goods over long distance. So you'd want to select a high-value commodity that is very easy to come by at one point of your setting and difficult to get everywhere else. The most traded goods from the Baltic were furs and amber for this reason. Disuse could result from the disparation of the resource at the original point.

 

[rgoodbb]

If you've fully integrated magic as part of the setting, then armies will certainly have spellcasters attached, and fireball will be the equivalent or artillery. What about a guano road, which this commodity only produced in a specific, huge bat cave or a bird-covered island ? Many political players would be sure to have strategic reserves of the thing, and if you rule that guano has an expiration date for fireballing purpose they'd need to restock on a regular basis. I'd classify that as semi-silly only.

If you want a more mundane choice, remember that transportation costs makes it infeasible to haul cheap goods over long distance. So you'd want to select a high-value commodity that is very easy to come by at one point of your setting and difficult to get everywhere else. The most traded goods from the Baltic were furs and amber for this reason.

Amber is an interesting one. I like that for a couple of reasons.

 

[Azzy]

Tobacco Road?

 

[rgoodbb]

Tobacco Road?

Or Tobacco Trail. Like it!

 

[Don Durito]

Does it need to be a commodity? The Road of Kings or Road of Princes, works just as well, as reference to all the lands passed through rather than to the commodity.

Religions travel along trade routes also, so it could be the Path of Prophets.

You could pick a commodity that sounds exotic or distant from the place you're focusing the game on. So if you're in a Europe expy, it could the Jade Road, or the Cinnabar way.

There's also dyes. They may be hard to get in certain places. In ancient times purple dye was made from sea snails and was extremely rare (the colour of emperors). If it's traded a long way you could have the Porphyry Road.

Lapis lazuli was also traded long distances. "Lapis Lazuli Road" is a bit of a mouthful but maybe the Lazurite Road, or just the Blue Way. Or it could be just the Jewel Road.

 

[aco175]

Does it need to be a commodity? The Road of Kings or Road of Princes, works just as well, as reference to all the lands passed through rather than to the commodity.

I said it before, the King's Road is the most dangerous place in my world.

Roads can also change names over time. The old Silk Road is now the Old Road, the West Road, or the Road to Jones Ferry.

Towns around where I live have old roads that are named for the town they head to and then change the name to the town you came from when you cross over. So King's Ferry Road out of Whistle Stop becomes Whistle Stop Road when you are in King's Ferry. I can see where old trails in woods and such need simple names to get where you need if you are a merchant. I may not know that I-95 heads North/South and that I need to turn left to get where I'm going, but I will know that the Boston Road heads to Boston.

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I said it before, the King's Road is the most dangerous place in my world.

View attachment 138873

Roads can also change names over time. The old Silk Road is now the Old Road, the West Road, or the Road to Jones Ferry.

Towns around where I live have old roads that are named for the town they head to and then change the name to the town you came from when you cross over. So King's Ferry Road out of Whistle Stop becomes Whistle Stop Road when you are in King's Ferry. I can see where old trails in woods and such need simple names to get where you need if you are a merchant. I may not know that I-95 heads North/South and that I need to turn left to get where I'm going, but I will know that the Boston Road heads to Boston.

I like this. And I think the more roads are used and/or replaced, you may also lose WHY that road is called that. Kingston Pike here in Knoxville obviously would run to Kingston, but no one here thinks of it in those terms. Maybe no one is exactly sure why that road is called the Ore Road any more, since ore comes from other places; another real world anecdote a former coworker had told me is that in the small town he grew up in, people would give directions in relation to a corner grocery store... that had burned down in the 60s. Yet everyone local knew the corner they were talking about.

 

[Azzy]

I said it before, the King's Road is the most dangerous place in my world.

View attachment 138873

Yours, too?