Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

Noted for mephits, going to shove them on the side a bit more. And yes there's a 12 minutes timer and a 10% chance for one of the Lion's Way triggers for example. Regarding random encounters I'll eventually be able to make them work locally

Waylaying (on Lion's Way) worked for me just now, at level 30. I almost died.

I really do MUCH prefer waylays over normal trash on the roads. They keep the roads clear most of the time, which helps RP, while still allowing the chance of encountering a threat. And unlike normal trash, that threat is actually pretty dangerous (especially for weaker or less defensive characters). There's so much more to RP around with the random waylays. Plus, because it's random, it's always a shock when it happens, compared to normal trash which is just an annoyance.

A tad late to the conversation here, but I found that the caves and mines were never really "unused". I noticed Snarfy wanted to put beetles in them, but their purpose has historically seemed to be that of a safe haven to rest in. (I've also RPed in several of them, with one or more PCs either recovering from wounds/sickness in a secluded spot or using said secluded spot to hide away. Heck, Ilhara once used the abandoned quarry as a hideout on her first trip to the surface... before she was promptly discovered because she murdered too many ogres and beetles. )

Random encounters in those caves might make sense - kind of like how the bear cave north of the FAI will spawn a few bears when you first venture inside - but a constant presence? I don't think that's a good idea.

The empty caves were left alone so no worries there, at most they'll be set up like the cave you mentioned.