TL;DR Skip to Spoiler below.
In my campaign, most magic items have a drawback. This is especially true of wondrous items. I try to tie the drawback to the world somehow, so I tend to shy away from standard curses from the books. Some examples: a fighter has a sword that was once a gift from an evil elf queen to a human king. The possessor of the sword must make a will save to use it against her or her minions, and other fighters crave it. A monk has a tent which sleeps four, speeds healing, and is invisible when assembled, but takes one random item each use. That item is then delivered to someone evil who is in need, and used to create mayhem. The item is then returned after the subsequent use of the tent. Sleepers within have dreams that reveal the uses to which the items have been put (this tent, by the way, has proven to be the perfect adventure hook generator. I roll to see what was taken, then I have to figure out how that would be used for evil. Candles missing? A female assassin seduces her quarry, using the candles to set the mood. A civil war results).
Basically the more powerful the device, the worse the drawback. I see the drawback as a necessary ingredient in the creation process (inspired by Kasreyn of the Gyre, the thaumaturge in Stephen R. Donaldson's The One Tree, who worked with circles but always needed to introduce a flaw for the magic to be effective). Some folks put in a drawback on purpose, while others who try to bypass this requirement accidentally infuse their own character flaws and vices into the finished product. But I digress...
Un-natural flight offends nature herself. While flying on the broom outdoors and above ground the rider is almost constantly subject to winds that vary from strong to hurricane.
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That particular items was traditionally used at night, perhaps there's a restriction that it isn't limited by the presence of light or darkness, or the light of the moon, or any of that, but that the item has trouble working in the presence of witnesses (other than the user), with the user needing to make a Will save to coax the item to function based on the presence of witnesses.
A single ally, already familiar with the item, could result in a fairly easy DC check. But passing a group of witnesses could force a major Will save to keep the item functioning, explaining why the item is more commonly used at night, when it would be less likely to be witnessed in action.
The broom feeds off of the players will power. Every hour of flight on the broom lowers your will power by one.
The broom belonged to a witch that intimidated local villagers by flying above them on moonlight nights to ensure they didn't forget that she could curse them with impunity. The broom inherited her malicious glee for grandstanding.
Controlling the broom is a concentration action if one wishes to guide the flight completely. The broom can be left to its own devices, but it tends to meander about.
You could also make the broom an intelligent item, so that it must be cajoled occasionally when the user wishes to put himself (and it) in harms way.
Thanks! These are great ideas, and definitely give me more food for thought.
the broom requires fuel, and the rider must eat/drink twice the normal amounts of sustenance. Failure to do so results in constitution drain (healable normally) but regular riding of the broom followed by periods of inactivity (ie not riding the broom) creates a gluttony effect (even if he/she does not ride the broom, they still have the hunger) which eventually leads to obesity, and the permanent loss of con.
Obviously things like remove curse/break enchantment etc could undo this as well as greater restoration.
The broom gained its power spontaneously from a truly miraculous governess who was a master of fastidiousness and good housekeeping. It requires the wielder to use it to sweep indoor areas for the same amount of time that the wielder spends riding it. Its speed and maximum height are both reduced in proportion to how dirty its rider is, and only on the same say that the rider has bathed and dons fresh clothing does it function at full strength.
Alternative drawback: when not being actively ridden, the broom refuses to stay still but instead constantly seeks out new floors to sweep, meaning it has to be sought out and is never directly on hand unless the rider is using it either as a mount or for cleaning. For non-adventurers, this might even be seen as a feature rather than a drawback (constant free housekeeping!)
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Rider of the broom must roll a CON check once per day of use. A roll of a natural 1 results in uncontrollable flaming methane emissions (out of the rider, not the broom) for 1d4 rounds in a cone. Treat as Burning Hands templated Stinking Cloud with a CL equal to how many hours the broom was ridden since the last roll of 1. For each day a broom rider does not roll a 1, add +1 to the d20 for the subsequent day (so the following day the event is trigger on a 2 or less, then on a 3 or less, etc).
When a rider fails his CON check, the DM rolls a d12 in secret...and the horrible, pants-splitting fart of incendiary doom will occur on that hour after dawn.
Any attempt to reroll a failed CON check results in the event being Empowered and Maximized, and occurring not randomly, but when, in the DM's judgment, the maximum amount of embarrassment and/or property damage will result.
After the blast that refreshes, The broom is also more buoyant and nimble than normal, and will self-animate and briefly seek out a new rider. For the next 24hrs, increase fly speed 100% and grant perfect maneuverability, gain Fly-By Attack, and bestow the Spirited Charge and Mounted Combat feats upon the first person to mount it. For one minute after the event, if the broom is within 60' it will animate and search for someone with Mounted Combat feats within a further 60' radius; upon encountering such a person, it will make a grapple attempt to slip between their legs and be mounted (this does not change ownership of the broom, but merely indicates who the recipient of the next event will be).
Background: the broom is the phylactery of a long-deceased CN gnome sorcerer arcane-trickster who inadvertently crafted it. (He failed in his attempt to become a lich by transferring his soul properly into a target crystal -- he instead hit an ordinary broom standing in a corner -- and only a lingering ego remains of him.) As the gnome enjoyed teasing paladins while alive, the spirit of the broom does too (since paladins are more likely to have Mounted Combat feats than others).