Ah nice! I can't say much about the narrative/dialogue side of things just in case I accidentally spoil stuff, but hopefully it will work out well!
And yeah, any encounters with hidden defence slots would need to be balanced a bit differently to usual combat either way - I'm hoping to, if I do use it at all, have it so that the player can lessen the disadvantage through earlier dialogue/action options, but I still want it to be enjoyable even if people don't do these earlier preparations :D
And no worries! Sorry that I haven't been able to work much on the next part with nanowrimo going on, but I'll hopefully have it ready soon(ish)!