How to expand as Red Duke or Neferata?

[Fire Lord Panos]

Greetings fellows. Currently playing in the latest version of this mod, I have some issues regarding these two characters.

Starting with the Red Duke....how the hell are you supposed to expand? I played through his initial script war event 2 times and I was beaten and driven to a standstill on both occasions. Greenskins and their attacks don't help. The Beastman territory south doesn't help as well. No matter if you take Aquitane early on, or if you try to chase and crush fresh Bretonnian armies in-detail (since the warscore doesn't change), Bretonnia WILL unite into a huge doomstack and wipe your armies eventually. Or at least make them unable to siege. And you could have all the Blood Knights in the world, but they possess many many times more the manpower that you have and can siege everywhere.
Opting for not going through the event is arguably worse. You don't declare war and you don't take the units, but you are stuck as bait in Bretonnia with nowhere to expand. Your only option is to try and fabricate somehere else (I tried Albion) to try and escape this bad position. But it all makes a veeery boring game of waiting and hoping that Bretonnia doesn't finish you off before you get that other claim.

Continuing with Neferata, I read people saying that you can play her as a forceful expansionist or, well, the Lahmian way of cajoling your way through other kingdoms' ruling society (I guess you are doing that by seducing them, change their religion and then releasing them into their societies to cause strife?). Either way you slice it, you'll want to deal with those pesky Greenskins surrounding you. But you can't do so in the beginning since their garrisons alone are bigger than what your initial armies can handle AND they can call other Greenskin "kingdoms" to unite against you. So I guess the only way is to play the extremely long game of somehow gaining alliances with non-Greenskin nations and call them to your aid?

Don't get me wrong, I know that none of those starting rulers' positions are easy, but it's also all about the options available for expansion and/or projection of influence and...well...fun.

 

[kart72]

Lahmian vampires can be sent on missions to seduce lords, if succesful they will periodically send troops (event troops) or money. I think it's your choice. Also I'm pretty sure neferata herself can go as well. Once you have enough units then you attack (also money can go into mercenaries or just buildings).
Unfortunately vampires can't raid which is a nice way to weaken enemies before a war.
if you start besiegeing a province of a vassal greenskin before he gets called in, when he gets called in, he won't raise troops from that settlement.
retinues, mercenaries and special event units can be one day away from entering a province of your target when you declare war.
MOUNTAINS ARE KEY


With red duke there is a lot of randomness, say bretonnias king starts with arbitrary, shy, gluttonous. I'm pretty sure he has a decision to make units of vampire knights over time but I'm pretty sure there was some weird requirement, also as a necromancer should be able to make hordes of skeletons (or whatever the shitty undead special unit is called) for numbers in sieges.
He starts with a marrieable daughter, no idea how that helps since she's vampire religion (I think).
Technically you could improve relations with bretonnia so as not to get attacked and conquer facebeaters (cleanse greenskins decision converts all the provinces you conquered to culture and religion, 35 gold per attempt per province, tribes can be insta converted), then use personal demense to get enough troops to beat bretonnias vassal troops.
You are a king, bretonnia is an empire, you might be able to swear fealty and conquer vassals with pre-prepared claims.

But yes this one is a long term character.
EDIT: another piece of randomness to consider is start-game artifact distribution especcialy banners, some of those give ridiculous buffs like: +30% damage, 20%cavalry 10%speed, 30% speed 10% flanking.

 

[Iazo]

Neferata can raise a lot of troops as zombies through necromancy. You can imprison courtiers, just eat the tyrrany and exxecute them. Get 5 Necro power, raise a zombee army, then clear the greenskins and, potentially, part of Kislev.