Magical Sailor Fuku

Those familiar with Exalted will get this, those who aren't can go look it up. Those who are familiar with Exalted will probably disagree with me about this premise. You are wrong.

My premise? The Deathlords should never be played "Smart" they should never "have read the Evil Overlord's List" or any variant of that logic. Yes they are inhumanly brilliant, yes they have more powers than your character ever should have, No they shouldn't be played like munchkin pcs even if that's what they are running against. No they shouldn't be efficient world destroyers and that's why they need to be nerfed mechanically.

Deathlords are at the beginning and end of it GHOSTS. Ghosts in Exalted are creatures of lost passions who try to fill in the gap with memories and drama. The only thing that keeps a Ghost out of the Lethe or Oblivion is their passions. Their hates, their loves.. the single greatest danger to any ghost is BOREDOM.

You know what's really boring? Winning all the time. Crushing bugs is fun.. for a few minutes.. centuries later you want something resembling a challenge. That's what the Deathlords are at. They aren't "threatened" by your solar or dragonblood or Sidereal or Lunar thwarting their plan or beating them until they respawn in the underworld.. no THAT'S WHAT THEY DEEP DOWN WANT! Conflict, they want an enemy they can explain their complicated plans infront of they want to spend months plotting revenge after your character saves the East. That's what they really want.

Because if they really were purely efficient world killers they would have succeeded by now, they wouldn't have fought over Stygia they wouldn't even need abyssals. They do this to Exist, because deep down that's what all ghosts really do.(Yes I understand the Paradox of people built to destroy Existance care only about Existing, but that's ghosts for you)

I think what kinda lends reason to your idea of how the 'big baddies' should be played as some decent fluff suggesting that they 'should' be played that way. One of my favorite examples of a deathlord that is constantly blundering despite his apparent genius is Eye and Seven Despairs. Here is a Deathlord that in life was a prodigy- but was tormented by his circle because he was younger, and was driven mad with revenge as a result. So what does he do once he gets his first Abyssal servants that are the shards of his Circle mates? Play an elaborate revenge plot- on his own servants.

And even the other Deathlords regard him as a total fool- despite this, if he were actually used as an antagonist, I think he would make for a hilarious series focus, especially if you play out his various eccentricities and demented passions to the fullest.

The other Deathlords have their own flaws that I think can be played, which lends favor to them tossing the Evil Overlord's List into the Void:

Mask of Winters is incredibly arrogant, invaded Thorns before anyone else was prepared to launch an offensive, is being played by a Sidereal, and is planning to toss all the other Deathlords into the void, complete with crazed laughter as he does so. If the Dragon Bloods in my favorite little down, Lookshy, decided to toss a few of their magitech weapons, they could easily reset the game for MoW.

First and Forsaken Lion doesn't have a foothold in the South to begin with, though he could easily be one of the greatest conceivable threats to Creation if he were set loose. Assuming of course he doesn't let his crush for the Black Heron get in his way, and given his various attempts to impress her (which have all failed) it's very possible that you could go the romance route to keep him distracted. Or do something about that armor of his, which even an Abyssal used as a way to keep him restrained and writhing in pain. The Black Heron of course just wants to be freeeeeeeee~ And is like a bird in the cage, who really, really hates the Lion for one reason or another. I'm sure most here would just think she's tsundere or something. It's very easy to play it this way if need be, cause you know, DLs love drama.

I'm not going to go over all of the Deathlords, but the last one, the Lover Clad in a Raiment of Tears... Uh, yeah, she's a little to busy with seducing people and living her unlife in excess. Granted, she may have sneakily caused the doom of Lookshy (or a major blow for it), she's otherwise having too much fun monkeying around in her palace. Play that up and I'm sure you could have a very... interesting series. Yeah, definitely not safe for work, however. XD

That's just my two cents, but I do love playing overly dramatic and eccentric villains at times (okay, most of the time).

I am basing my premise on why the Deathlords should be out and out bond villain types from the description of Deathlord and Rogue Abyssal Interaction and the Ghosts chapter in ROGD2.(And some Wraith). Ghosts die from boredom+face punchy. Deathlords have "immunity Face punchy" so they can concentrate PURELY on the Boredom.