Our 2nd side-scene went well. The odds were stacked against them, and the players let their skills shine, magic fly, and swords dance. They did not succeed in the capturing main antagonist, but the battle goes on. This gives the main PCs the opportunity later.
This game was also cut short on time. I’m seeing a trend.
Temp Characters
The tough part about using temporary characters is creating each to be fleshed out enough for players to play them. Still, it’s been worth the effort. I’ll likely use them as major NPCs.
Prior experience
Years ago, playing the role of an NPC for a game our DM ran was an interesting experience. I had less of a personal investment in it and more of a co-GM investment in that character.
Which begs the question: When a player plays an NPC is it no longer an NPC?