I have drowned kingdoms in blood and raised empires from the ashes.

Make me your fortress and together we shall turn the tide of war. Cast down that dull board and make me your bulwark. I shall make you a hero. - Gom Vardae, Aegis of Ages.
Aegis of Ages is a new paragon tier psionic artifact for 4th Edition DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. DMs looking to introduce the artifact into their campaigns are advised to run my Aegis of Ages combat encounter from November 2011.

AEGIS OF AGES
Across the vast sweep of history, one legendary shield has resurfaced more than any other. It has been wielded by kings and conquerors, by generals and gladiators. Kords champions have carried it in the Game of Mountains, but it has also fought for Bane on the battlefields of Chernoggar. It is Gom Vardae, Aegis of Ages, and it answers to no master. It lives only for battle and glory. The shield remembers every battle it has fought and can recount the life stories of each of its owners. In combat it taunts its enemies with visions of its past glories, revealing how greater warriors than they had perished before it. Gom is fickle though. Should it lose faith in its owner it uses these visions to reveal how its previous champions were beaten, granting its enemies an edge in combat. Should they triumph, perhaps one of them could take up its mantle?

Aegis of Ages

Paragon Tier

This craggy shield has borne witness to ten thousand lifetimes of conflict. Artifact: Arms slot item (heavy shield) Properties You gain a +1 bonus to AC and Reflex when using the shield (+3 bonus to AC and Reflex against ranged or area attacks). You gain a +2 bonus to saving throws versus Psychic or Charm effects.

Gom Vardae is interested only in war, and must join a character who is actively battling against an enemy force (be that an army, a cult, or the minions of an evil tyrant). Carved from solid stone, it is simply too heavy to be wielded by anyone else. In a champions hands though, it feels light as spun steel.

While you are not bloodied, your melee attacks deal an additional 5 damage. Utility Power At-Will (Minor Action) Trigger: You have no power points remaining and you are not bloodied. Effect: You regain 1 power point. Utility Power At-Will (Immediate Reaction) Trigger: You are hit by a weapon attack while you are not bloodied. Effect: You gain temporary hit points equal to half the damage dealt by the attack.

CONCORDANCE
Starting Score 5
Owner has psionic powers +3 Owner wins a battle against an opposing force in their war (1/day) +2 Owner uses a psionic power to deliver a killing blow to an enemy (1/day) +1 Owner accepts a quest that does not further the cause of their war. -3 An attack drops the owner to 0 hit points or less -1

GOALS OF THE AEGIS OF AGES

Triumph in its owners war. Only be wielded by champions. Never fall in battle

PLEASED (16-20)
Aware that a true champion carries it, Gom subjects their enemies to mind-wracking visions of defeat at his or her hands. The shields owner gains use of the following powers for as long as the shield remains at this concordance:

Utility Power Daily (Free Action) Trigger: You are bloodied by an attack. Effect: You gain a free use of the shields daily attack power and use it immediately. Attack Power Encounter (Immediate Interrupt) Trigger: An enemy hits you with a melee attack. Attack: Close blast 3 (the triggering enemy), Constitution +4 versus Will. Hit: 4d8 + Constitution modifier psychic damage and the target is stunned until the end of its turn.

Property You gain a +5 bonus to History checks. You can speak telepathically with the shield at will.

UNSATISFIED (1-4)
The shield is losing faith in its owner. At this concordance, the shields owner loses the use of the shields utility powers.

Attack Power Daily (Standard Action) Attack: Close blast 3 (enemies in blast), Constitution +4 versus Will. Hit: 4d8 + Constitution modifier psychic damage and the target makes a melee attack against you, even if it is beyond range. If it hits, it deals no damage and gains a +2 bonus to the next melee attack it makes against you before the end of its next turn. If it misses, it is stunned until the end of your next turn. Augment 2: Close blast 5, and the target takes a -2 penalty to the melee attack roll. Augment 4: Close blast 8, and the target takes a -5 penalty to the melee attack roll.

ANGERED (0 OR LOWER)
The shield looks for new champions in every battle. At this concordance, any enemies of higher level than the shields owner gain a +2 bonus to melee attacks made against them. If they drop the shields owner to 0 hit points with a melee attack, the shield offers them its services.

SATISFIED (12-15)
Normally quiet, Gom Vardae now speaks regularly into its owners mind, spurring them on to greater victories. In combat it besets its enemies with terrible visions where they relive its previous battles. Such glimpses may reap tactical benefits in the present, but the experience is always unsettling. The shields owner gains use of the following property for as long as the shield remains at this concordance:

MOVING ON
The shield moves on once its owners war is won, or when a greater champion presents themselves. If it is pleased when it moves on, its owner gains Resist 10 psychic permanently, and a +2 bonus to saving throws versus Psychic or Charm effects.

NORMAL (5-11)
Gom Vardae is unsure of its new owner, yet sees a spark of promise in them. For as long as they stand strong, the shield bolsters their mind with psionic fortitude. At this concordance, the shield has the properties and other characteristics included in its description above.