Help with artifact design?

So I need some help designing artifacts for a campaign I'm planning on running.

The Backstory: Long ages ago, one of the gods of this setting grew so twisted and mad that he threatened the stability of the world. The other gods banded together to slay him, but they faced a dilemma. If they simply killed the god, his power would pass into another vessel and swiftly reshape it, and they would be right back where they started. And they could not destroy the power of the god, because Power of that sort cannot be destroyed. But soon they realized that what could not be destroyed could be transformed, and from the body and power (which are the same thing) of the dead god, they forged five artifacts of titanic power. They then sealed the artifacts away until the day would come when they would be needed, as the gods knew they would eventually.

The five artifacts are the Ring, the Staff, The Sword, The Cup, and the Crown.

Spoiler: The Sword

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This is one of the two that I've fully defined. A single-edged sword made of what appears to be polished bone, about 2 feet in length. Looks almost like a giant fang with black leather wrapping around the hilt. Mechanics-wise, this is a +5 shortsword. Its special properties are:
1. It affects incorporeal or ethereal creatures as if it had the ghost touch property.
2. It ignores any form of damage reduction or hardness.
3. Wounds inflicted by this sword are almost impossible to heal. Fast healing and regeneration have no effect on damage from this blade, its wounds do not heal naturally, and normal healing magic is useless. Only a Miracle, a Wish, or the Cup can heal the wounds inflicted by the Sword.

Spoiler: The Cup

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The second fully defined artifact, the Cup resembles an ornate chalice carved from polished bone (actually, all the items appear to be made of bone). Drinking from the Cup will cure almost any wound, ailment, or affliction. One sip of whatever liquid is placed within the Cup will instantly affect the drinker as if heal, regenerate, and greater restoration had been cast on her at full caster level (If the target should happen to be healed by negative energy, the cup duplicates harm instead of heal, naturally). This draught also dispels any curses that may be affecting the drinker, and the healing will function despite any effect that would normally prevent healing, including the power of the Sword.
In addition, pouring the contents of the Cup into the mouth of a deceased person will bring that person back to life, provided the body is mostly intact and three or more sunrises have not passed since death.

Spoiler: The Crown

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This artifact resembles a circlet of braided vines that have been somehow petrified into bone. I know I want the Crown to give True Seeing and Mind Blank, but I'm not sure what other properties, if any, it should have.

Spoiler: The Ring

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A polished bone ring, suitable for placing on a finger. I've been thinking of having this artifact grant a bunch of protective abilities, but I'm not really sure.

Spoiler: The Staff

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A tall staff of polished white bone. No clue what this one should do.

Please respond with any ideas!

The Crown: An artifact of Command
Allows the user to Command others, Geas, or Suggest
Can only be removed by the Sword (along with the user's head). It cannot be used to command the bearer of the Cup. If used to command the wearer of the Ring to remove the ring, see below. If a user has both the Crown and the Rod, they can establish and destroy the boundaries of kingdoms and states.

The Ring: An artifact of Bond or Promise, the force of a Ring user's word can bend fate to its will to fulfill a promise made by the user of the Ring. After putting it on, the Ring wearer only gains a benefit when committing to a cause or purpose to be accomplished (defeating a king, destroying a great evil, etc.) and when required, the ring can act to preserve the wearer when it is used towards this purpose. Can only be removed by completing the Promise, by immersion in the Cup, or removal by the Sword. If the Crown is used to command the wearer to remove the Ring, the force destroys both the wearer of the Crown and the wearer of the Ring.

The Rod: An Artifact of borders and boundaries, it can be used to forbid others and set up bounds which entities cannot cross if they are those named by the wielder, including binding and imprisonment. If the Ring and the Rod are in opposition, neither can overcome the other, and both are rendered useless until something breaks the stalemate (the Ring Wearer is commanded by the wearer of the Crown to break a boundary, for instance, or the Rod's boundary is cut by the Sword)

What if instead of everything being made of one, everything was made of some part of a body?

The sword is made of bone, the ring has a red jewel of crystallized blood, the staff is made of twisted sinew, the cup always has a quivering bit of flesh in it, and the crown could be your wildcard and made of the god's essence or power or whatever immaterial thing you want.

These things were made from/with the power of a mad god trying to destroy reality. Their effects should always have a dark or twisted touch.
The Sword might deal 1 point of damage to its wielder either whenever unsheathed or on each hit (though the second option would probably require allowing natural healing for this wound).
The Cup might have to be filled with blood of a still living being (possibly even blood willingly given) to work its magic.

As for the others, some random ideas:
The Crown: This artifact comes in two states that may be switched freely (as a full-round action) by the wielder or turned off completely. In the first state, it grants True Seeing and the ability to see the Plane of Shadows (PoS) as an overlay to the prime. In the second state, it renders the wielder completely unperceivable (as Mind Blank and Greater Invisibility). Both of these abilities work by transferring different aspects of the wielder to the PoS. The catch: While using one of these abilities, they are widely visible on the PoS (like a beacon in this otherwise dark plane) and can be affected by its denizens as if physically there, without the ability to retaliate. It has happened before that a wearer of the Crown suddenly collapsed under unexplainable wounds all over their body.

The Ring: The wielder gains all the immunities of a construct, some DR or hardness and are immune to any effect that does not also work on objects. Yes, this does include buffs and healing spells. Naturally, the ring cannot be removed from a finger attached to a living body... but why else would we have access to Regeneration?

The Rod: I really like Gritmonger's theme of boundaries here. An inspiration could be the Cube of Force - just add unlimited charges but a grisly drawback for using them. An alternative concept:
The Staff: You may use Summon Monster I-IX at will (one creature per use only). However, the creatures summoned all have some template that fits to your god (Shadow creature would continue the theme of the Crown) and they fight your control. Each round, you have to make an opposed Cha check against each creature currently summoned to control them. If you fail, they attack you or your allies (or any living being around). It is possible to dismiss uncontrolled creatures, but that takes one standard action per creature.

Perhaps the crown allows for certain psionic-like powers, such as reading thoughts, projecting one's consciousness, charming/dominating others?

Perhaps the staff or the ring lets you call on the forces of the god? For instance, if he was an evil god, you could use it to call up demons/devils? If he was a fire god, you could summon fire elementals, et cetera. Can also probably call on the beasts of the earth if his portfolio includes nature or somesuch.

The other might provide the ability to work with the element in question - for instance, if he was a god of the sea, you might have an effect like Shape Stone/Wall of Stone to build yourself a coral palace.

Have you thought about what happens when you get more than one of the artifacts together? Perhaps someone who wears the crown and the sword gets bonuses to his abilities, but also hears the whisper of the god in his ears. Someone might be after all five thinking that bringing them would grant immortality, but what if it restores the god instead?

Sorry - meant staff when I mentioned rod - was thinking wands, cups, and swords as in a tarot deck. I do like the idea of potent combinations as well as counters - wounds by the sword healed by the chalice. Pentacles is not represented, that should have been the clue.

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Originally Posted by Gritmonger

Sorry - meant staff when I mentioned rod - was thinking wands, cups, and swords as in a tarot deck. I do like the idea of potent combinations as well as counters - wounds by the sword healed by the chalice. Pentacles is not represented, that should have been the clue.

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I almost feel like it should be represented, possibly as the ring. Then maybe the crown represents the Major Arcana. I had the same initial reaction as you and if that's something Reader wants to avoid referencing he might consider changing some of the artifacts.