I actually didn’t notice the equippable Whispering Masks were there my first playthroughs as they’re well camouflaged and it’s pretty dark, and then the fact that I’m not used to 5e meant it took me a while to twig that Protection from Evil and Good might be useful given it protects against charm from fey creatures. I’d have appreciated some cue to help draw my attention to the equippable masks and highlight their importance, such as a comment from a party member who passed a perception check.
But once you have those pieces of the puzzle, even though the fight against Ethel is trickier with her henchpeople you actually don’t need to kill them once she’s dead, just survive them while she’s alive, so from that perspective it’s possibly an easier option. Or if you just want to be able to talk to the masks without fighting Ethel alongside them, then you can try to kill Ethel in the cottage before she retreats to her lair. I’m not sure exactly how this pans out though, as I never go that route as it feels like cheesing.
