#railroading

the players’ interests and plans

the characters’ goals

verisimilitude

the dice

some combination of the above

Providing clear plothooks is not railroading.

Narrating transitional moments is not railroading.

NPCs sharing information and taking actions that support their interests is not railroading.

Having a general plot outline is not railroading.

Of course, just like for the 1976 Bicentennial, there're Semiquincentennial LOCOMOTIVES! So, locomotives with number 1776 and 250 are going to be popular and patriotic, rocking some version of an #America-250 livery paint job 🇺🇸

...it makes for some good pictures too!

Obligatory long-hood-forward EMD GP9 #1776 on the ESPN (East Penn) railroad.

American USRA type 2-6-0 Steam engine.