My level 18 Nord doesn't have the stones to put down the Lurkers & Seekers of Dragonborn. I need to destroy multiples of these acid spitting abominations to unlock the secrets of the Black Book.
I could salvage this campaign but it's lost it's magic. I've considered playing at a lower difficulty level & making combat easier but it would feel dirty. I could travel on & level up & read the book later but it kind of breaks the game for me. I like the character enough that I have considered using a earlier save file and leveling up before I trigger those quests.
Or I could scrap the whole campaign and do a different build?
Do you have any save files with abandoned characters on them? What has broke the game for you or got you stuck?
I have a lot of save files like this, I bet you do to?

Usually in these circumstances I would go back to an earlier save. Typically I tend to avoid this by not starting main quests until I have significantly built up my character. A habit I developed due to Oblivion's leveled quest reward system.

I have no problems going back to an earlier save. I think of it as revision. If I'm writing a story and I run into troubles with plot or character I'll back up to an earlier point in the story and revise what I've written. I do the same here.

The number of characters I've created and then abandoned could fill Falkreath's graveyard.

You can leave Apocrypha at any time by reading the Black Book again.

Come back when you are more powerful.