Lets play counter-point!

[Limper]

Smurffests...... I like that.

I in no way meant to demean others style..... I only attempted to understand it. I suppose a reference to the Smurfs could be interpretted as something other than humor....

 

[SableWyvern]

But the smurfs were the ultimate grim and gritty.

Tiny Zombies, so tormented by their undeath that they had to consume hallucinogenic drugs to maintain a facade of carefree mirth; each a terribly extreme caricature of the person he or she had been in life; hunted constantly by a demon cat and its evil demonolgist master; endlessly seeking more potent potion-drugs, only to end through their own incompetance with magics that backfired every time; trapped in an eternal groundhog day of dance, explore, brew potion, get hunted and captured, escape, sing, explore, brew potion, get hunted and captured, escape...

 

[rounser]

I in no way meant to demean others style..... I only attempted to understand it.

I apologise if I came across as rude, then. I do believe what I said from a political and social standpoint, though. To explain...

I think there are similar reasons for the popularity of "grim n gritty" style play as there is for the popularity of arguably "negative", "dark" or "anarchist" subcultures such as punk and goth. Generally, society says that it is generally not deemed cool or sophisticated to be happy or positive - that stuff's for kids, or musicals, or romantic comedies. The root of drama is disaster or conflict. Much alternative music, even entire scenes (such as grunge or blues) wallow in negativity, or associate intellectualism with the dark side of life. In academically acclaimed literature and movies, the subject matter is often negative "issues", and entertainment for entertainment's sake is dismissed as, perhaps, a lesser form of art.

In other words, I think that "dark" as a theme is seen as more "adult", and "happy" as "kiddie", which is something I don't take for granted. I suppose I have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to this perception, and lashed out when perhaps it was not warranted.

I don't begrudge your enjoyment of "grim n gritty", but I suppose I railed at the implication that no-one would want it any other way...and the suggestion that to not go "grim n gritty" implies the other extreme.

 

[SableWyvern]

Hmmm.

I thought everyone was being quite civil, just a little tongue in cheek.

To get to Limper's first point (I think I've already shown the foolishness of his snipe at the smurfs), I'm not playing grim n gritty because I always run grim n gritty, and it was time for a change. In a soon-to-start campaign, I'll even be running not-grim-n-gritty with default wealth values.

So, in essence, when I don't play grim and gritty, its for pretty much the same reason that my PCs (on the rare occasion I have a PC) aren't all orphaned human enchanters raised in a monastery and seeking to discover the meaning of the strange silver amulet that is their only link to their past - because variety is good.