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nowiwantmydmg wrote:

Typo. :P

Fixed. Oops!

THE NIGHTLORD’S PALANQUIN
This sedan chair is carved from a single piece of black wood, and except for the bearer handles is entirely covered in engraving depicting scenes of slaughter and glorifying the Lord of Undeath. It exudes a palpable aura of malevolence and those who look upon it swear it peers straight into their souls with hungry eyes. The chair smells strongly of rotting flesh, and is alarmingly heavy- just over 500 pounds, and previous bearers (those who could muster the courage to lift it for more than a day) will swear it grows heavier whenever its master slays a living creature.
Paragon tier
Powers (a creature must be sitting in the Palanquin to use any of its powers or properties. The bearers, if any, of the palanquin receive no bonuses);
Property; +2 to Will
Property;  The Palanquin bonds to the first medium or smaller creature than sits in it, and until the Palanquin Moves On, or its current owner dies, it will be of use to only that occupant. None of its powers or properties will activate for anyone else, and anyone who attempts to sit in the chair will be forced to pass a DC35 Will check or be forced out and take 2d8 Necrotic damage.
Property; +2 to hit with all Spells and Prayers
Property; -6 to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Insight when dealing with all living, natural creatures.
Property; +2 to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Insight when dealing with Undead and Demons (who are naturally inclined to be neutral towards the occupant).
Property; All damage dealing powers now deal Necrotic energy damage. If the power had a damage type(s) before hand, replace that damage type with Necrotic energy damage.
Power (At Will* Arcane): Standard Action. You can reanimate one dead medium size, living, natural humanoid  as a Zombie Rotter, at a max of one per turn. The Zombie Rotter will enter combat with a new initiative at the beginning of the next round. The Zombie Rotter will crumble to dust after 1d3 rounds if it is not first killed. The Zombie Rotter is under complete control of the player of the palanquin’s occupant.
Power(Daily*Arcane): Standard Action. You can use the ritual Speak with Dead at no cost.

Goals of the Palanquin of the Nightlord
-    To weaken the Raven Queen’s grasp on the souls of the living, and to defame her name.
-    To bring Orcus into the world.
-    To sow widespread terror and fear.

Roleplaying the Palanquin of the Nightlord
    The Palanquin of the Nightlord is an extremely intelligent, perceptive, and manipulative artifact, and seeks to guide and steer its occupant down a path of subservience, almost to the point where the artifact uses the rider. It speaks only in Supernal and Abyssal, and it becomes furious and enraged when it or its advice is constantly ignored, often screaming for days on end until the occupant relents. Once a creature sits in the chair the palanquin activates, it will be psychically linked to its current occupant whether or not the rider is in the chair, no matter the distance (however, this link can only be used for the chair to speak to the occupant, and it the link will be broken if the owner and Palanquin are on separate planes. The link will always be reestablished automatically.).
Concordance
Starting Score                                 5
Owner gains a level                             +1d8
Owner slays a powerful or important servant of the Raven Queen    +2
Owner helps a powerful undead                        +2
Owner kills an undead creature (1 per encounter)            -2
Owner goes more than a day without answering the Palanquin.         -1
Owner establishes a cult of Orcus 20+ strong                +2
Owner is undead, or a demon                        +1

Angered (0 or lower)
“Fool! You will dread the power of my master!”
At this point the Palanquin wants only to inflict as much hurt upon its failed occupant as possible.
Property; Undead creatures will actively seek out the occupant, and in combat will specifically target the occupant. The owner will be hunted whether or not he/she is actively sitting in the Palanquin.
Property; Additionally the Palanquin feeds off the energy of the occupant, resulting in a -1 to all rolls as long as the psychic link is maintained.
Unsatisfied (1-4)
“Pathetic, all this power and that is best you can do?”
The Palanquin becomes quiet and morose, and has no desire to help the occupant until it shows some desire to further Orcus’s plans.
Property; Neither of the Palanquin’s powers are usable until the Concordance level is raised above 4.
Normal (5-11)
“Together, we will be lords of this world, and all will bow at your feet.”
When a creature first sits in the Palanquin it speaks openly, and spins tales of the power that the occupant now has at his/her fingertips.
Satisfied (12-15)
“Very good, we are so close to achieving our goals.”
The Palanquin is pleased with the work of its occupant, but still drives it to gather more power in its master’s name.
Property; Zombie Rotters raised by the occupant last one extra round.
Property; All Necrotic attacks deal +1d6 damage
Pleased (16-20)
“Soon my master will have everything.”
The Palanquin is very happy with its occupant, and is almost pleasant at times. However, at this point it will become even more frustrated with the occupant when ignored, and it will take much less to make it angry.
Power(At Will*Arcane): Minor Action. You can use the Speak With Dead ritual at no cost.
Property; All Necrotic attacks deal +1d8 damage at Heroic tier, +2d8 damage at Paragon tier, and +3d8 damage at Epic tier. This damage bonus replaces the damage bonus given at the Satisfied Concordance level.
Property; Zombie Rotters raised by the occupant last 1d6 rounds, or until killed.

Moving On
"Your time is over"
The Palanquin has no further use for the current owner. The Palanquin slowly transforms into inky black smoke and is dissipated by a chill wind.
If the Palanquin is Pleased with the owner it will forcibly perform the Lich Transformation ritual (no check required, Time: Immediate) upon the occupant.
If the Palanquin was Satisfied with the owner it will grant the owner the knowledge of the Speak with Dead ritual, such that no Ritual Book is required.
If the Palanquin's Concordance level is below Satisfied a hostile Nightwalker will be left in place of the Palanquin which will immediately begin to attack everything in sight.

It fulfills special criteria 1,2,3, and in all but incredibly exceptional cases 9.
I designed it to do a few things that some people were missing in 4e, and because criteria #9 caught my eye and I immediately had and idea for it. The raising of the dead power seems powerful at first, but I think it is balanced out by the fact that you can only raise one per turn (I thought the At Will Standard action would suffice for that, but just in case I threw in the extra wording), and they only last d3 turns, at least until Concordance 16+, but at that point your enemies will be able to blow through them. And because they do not last for more than a minute it is impossible to create an army of undead.
This is my first attempt at creating an item for 4e, so we'll see how it goes.

Wait...what?  A contest that I discover and have time to enter, before it closes!?   Impossible!

Anyway, here's mine:

The Staff of Chaos

This three-foot-tall staff is forged from a single ingot of jet-black iron and carved with thousands of crawling runes.  This five-foot-tall staff is carved from several trees of all sorts and the branches at its head hold a dragon's egg.  This four-foot-tall staff is a beam of solidified red light that gives anyone looking at it a headache.  The Staff of Chaos can have any appearance at all, often changing overnight or sometimes two or three times within the space of an hour; the one constant about it is a smell of brimstone and ash, and a feel of great age.

It exists to increase the amount of entropy in the multiverse by any means possible, which usually means mass slaughter but occasionally means driving other beings to cause any chaos they can, making its wielders more than a bit confused.  Oh, and of course it is also absolutely and irrevocably insane--the Staff was originally created to spread chaos and entropy, regular confusion and chaos in addition to "heat death of the multiverse"-style entropy, but over the millennia its mental state has gotten worse and worse, to the point that it often resorts to killing over chaos-by-proxy...though these two conflicting desires bother it more and more as time progresses and drives it deeper into insanity.

The Staff of Chaos Heroic Level
This staff seems to warp and twist before its wielder's eyes.  Created from pure chaos and nothingness, it seeks to return everything in the multiverse to that state, and is imbued with powerful destructive magic as well as powerful protective magic.

The Staff of Chaos has the base statistics of a +2 flaming quarterstaff, but a warlock wielding it instead treats it as a rod of the pyre and a wizard wielding it treats it as a staff of fiery might.
Property: You gain a +1d4 bonus to all defenses (roll at the beginning of each encounter).
Property: When using an attack power, you can choose to use your Intelligence or Constitution score in place of the score the power normally uses.
Power (At-Will): Minor action.  Until the end of your next turn, any powers you use deal fire or necrotic damage (your choice) instead of their normal damage type.  If a power already uses either fire or necrotic damage, it deals an extra +1d6 damage of the opposite type; if a power uses both fire and necrotic damage, it deals an extra +2d6 fire and necrotic damage.
Power (Encounter * Implement, Necrotic, Zone): Standard action.  You can use hunger of Hadar (warlock 5).
Power (Encounter): At the beginning of each encounter, roll 1d20; at any time during the encounter, you can use the power indicated by the table below as a standard action:
1—ghost sound
2—mage hand
3—expeditious retreat
4—jump
5—shield
6—dimension door
7—dispel magic
8—invisibility
9—levitate
10—wall of fog
11—arcane gate
12—blur
13—mirror image
14—ethereal stride
15—fiendish resilience
16—shadow veil
17—dark one's own luck
18—shroud of black steel
19—shadow form
20—Wielder's choice

Goals of the Staff of Chaos
--Increase the amount of entropy in the world by destroying all creatures and objects.
--Increase the amount of chaos in the world by helping all creatures and objects spread chaos.
--Increase the amount of disorder in the world by removing or overthrowing all sources of legitimate order in the world.

Roleplaying the Staff of Chaos
The Staff of Chaos is persuasive, violent...and utterly insane.  The most chaotic features of the universe are living creatures, as nothing spreads chaos and entropy more than several billion creatures working at cross purposes.  However, entropy is also increased by destroying these creatures, as with every death a bit of chaos is created and a lot of energy becomes unusable as the soul flies off to its eternal reward.  Thus, the Staff is constantly at war with itselves to determine whether they should kill a creature or entice it to the side of chaos, and most wielders find this disorienting at best.

The Staff constantly whispers random words in Primordial and the Deep Speech, though it can communicate telepathically with its wielder in a pseudo-language of words and images.  If the wielder isn't killing someone or otherwise furthering the cause of chaos, the Staff sends increasingly erratic and desperate messages which only wanton destruction can halt.  (Imagine Gollum's mind trapped in a staff and you get the idea.)

Pleased (16-20)
“Hahahahahahahaha!  Chaos and death shall rule!”
The Staff is euphoric about the entropy and mayhem caused by its wielder; it stops bothering its host with much communication, content to simply enjoy the experience.
Property: As long as you are conscious, you leave a wake of death and fire wherever you go—any creature passing through a square through which you moved on your last turn takes 1d4 necrotic and fire damage, cumulative per square.  On any turn when you do not move, this energy builds up and deals 1d4 damage to you.
Power (Daily): Standard action.  You can launch an entropic ray at an opponent (area 1 square within 10 squares), either Intelligence vs. Fortitude or Constitution vs. Reflex; any creature hit by the ray takes 1d10*1d10 damage.

Satisfied (12-15)
“Excellent!  You serve us well—yes, he does—we agree.”
The Staff urges its wielder to greater and greater acts of chaos, speaking often of the glory of chaos for the sake of chaos.
Property: All of your powers deal ongoing 1 necrotic damage (save ends); if a power already deals ongoing damage, this damage is not added to it.
Power (Encounter): Standard action.  You can launch a wild blast from the Staff. The attack is made with the higher of your Constitution and Intelligence scores, attacks your choice of Reflex or Fortitude, affects a 1d4-square-radius area within 2d6 squares, and inflicts 3d6 damage plus a -5 penalty to saves to all creatures in the area until the end of your next turn.  The exact origin square is determined randomly, but you may choose where to place it if you take 1d6 damage; otherwise, using this ability deals 1d4 damage to you.

Normal (5-11)
“We exist to spread chaos!  Serve us or face the void at the end of time!”
The Staff gives its wielder the chance to serve it and threatens to kill the wielder unless its demands are met.  The Staff usually forgets about the wielder during this period, and will have the same conversation every day with a different voice until it is either satisfied or unsatisfied with the wielder.
Property: All of your powers deal an additional 1 fire damage, but you take 1 damage in return whenever you use a power.

Unsatisfied (1-4)
“Chaos!  More chaos!  Mayhem, discord, distruction, death, we need more!”
The Staff is disappointed with the wielder, and aside from mentally berating its wielder it will sometimes attack its wielder with the abilities it grants.
Property: You take a -2 penalty to your Will defense as the Staff constantly rants and yells at you to further its goals.
Power (Encounter): Standard action.  You can launch a wild blast from the Staff, as the Satisfied ability of the same name.  However, there is a 1 in 4 chance that it is centered on your space, rather than you being able to choose its origin square, and that it deals double damage to you and all other targets.

Angered (0)
“You are no longer useful to us!  Yes he is—no he isn't—yesheis—noheisn't—Kill him!”
The Staff is extremely angry with its wielder, and expresses its opinion—violently.
Property: You gain vulnerability 15 psychic as the Staff mentally screams at you day and night, eroding your willpower.
Power (Encounter): Free action.  An entropic ray (as the Pleased ability) targets the closest creature to you within 5 squares, choosing allies before enemies; if there are no allies or enemies within 5 feet of you, it targets you.  The Staff chooses when to use this ability, not the wielder, and will often choose to target allies over the wielder simply to experience the wielder's suffering and anguish.

Moving On
“You were amusing, but we want chaos in other places—but why not here?—no, somewhere else!—fine, be that way—we will!”
The Staff lives for causing chaos (metaphorically speaking) and so is never content to remain with only one wielder forever, as that limits the area where chaos and entropy can be spread.  After the wielder next gains a level, there is a 1% cumulative chance per encounter that at the end of the encounter the Staff will rise into the air, explode into shards of energy, and send its essence flying away to reform elsewhere for another wielder.  If the Staff is Satisfied or Pleased, it leaves a normal item of its type behind (a rod of the pyre for a warlock wielder, a staff of fiery might for a wizard wielder, and a +2 flaming quarterstaff for any other wielder).  If the Staff is Unsatisfied or Angered, it doesn't rise into the air before exploding, instead dealing damage equal to half its wielder's maximum hit points to the wielder and any creatures within 1d8 squares before disappearing.

Optional Elements Fulfilled
1) No matter how high the Concordance, the artifact inflicts negative effects on its wielder.
Each level of concordance has a different negative effect, but all damage or harm the wielder in some way.

2) The artifact can speak but not in Common.
The Staff speaks only Primordial and the Deep Speech, though it can communicate empathically to a degree.

3) The artifact has a distinctive odor.
It constantly smells of brimstone and ash.

4) The artifact is appropriate for a character at the Heroic tier of play..
I believe the power level is appropriate for a Heroic character and that it's sufficiently balanced, though I'm not completely sure due to limited play experience with 4e.

8) The artifact is conflicted because accomplishing one of its goals will make it impossible to accomplish another goal (and vice versa).
Two of the Staff's goals are:
--Increase the amount of entropy in the world by destroying all creatures and objects.
--Increase the amount of chaos in the world by helping all creatures and objects spread chaos.
If it accomplishes the first goal, it cannot accomplish the second because there would be no living creatures to help spread chaos; if it accomplishes the second goal, it cannot accomplish the first because killing creatures that are spreading chaos and entropy would decrease the amount of entropy in the world.