[Anomylous]

TFT can certainly be played in meat-grinder fashion, but you don't have to do it that way.

You can also play it in a "silly fun" fashion, but honestly I've run into way more silly situations, proportionate to total game time anyway, in Pathfinder/D&D. To me, TFT just feels more...realistic somehow, which may be why it's less prone to ridiculous shenanigans.

You also don't have to use a bunch of house rules, it works fine as written. But because the system is simple, comprehensible, and well-balanced, it's easy and fun to add new content and otherwise tweak things to suit your taste. Which is why the House Rules subforum is so popular.

And I agree with Helborn; the rules aren't meant to be a straitjacket. Let the players try things, roll some dice to see if it worked, and don't worry too much about the letter of the RAW.