Oh no, they didn't make it harder on purpose. I'm pretty sure by industry standards, Bannerlord is more mod-friendly. But by giving players way more powerful tools and access, you basically need an education or professional experience in this **** to make effective use of it. I think @Kentucky 『 HEIGUI 』 James made that point in a bunch of other places elsewhere but bouncing between WB modding and BL modding, you can see for yourself how that latter is way more difficult.
I had to start learning C# just for BL tweaking, not even real modding, and even then it is hilariously easy to **** up all kinds of **** by making very simple mistakes or even just oversights