4) The aboleth didn't end up crushing them - the monk stunned it via the tentacle and it went down fast.
5) My PCs got very interested in the cursed and other miscellaneous items. Any suggestions as to what to do with:
"odd black metal cage covered in thorns" - I'm drawing a blank on this one (backstory? function?)
"+2 unholy dagger that brings horrible misfortune to any that wield it" - did you implement the horrible misfortune? I'm treating the unholy dagger as "good creatures lose a level while wielding it" but my PCs are mostly neutral so I don't think it will come up.
"stuffy doll with pins that radiates necromantic magic" - this one is freaking them out so now I want it to actually do something. They're hesitant to damage it but don't want it just lying around either. Any suggestions?
I had the book attack them with flying sword stats. They didn't try to gather the torn pages after the battle so they don't get the names of 100 fiends.
6) Given that "hallow" exists, I did implement the permanent protection from energy (fire) effect. The wizard loves Fireball and Flaming Sphere, so it really threw him off.
New items:
a) Did your players do anything zany with the Viewing Pool in M10? Mine want to spy on everyone. Does "well known" have any meaning in 3e? Is it similar to "very familiar" in teleport spells or "familiar" in the Scrying spell?
b) My PCs had a great time in the Museum with the Vrock. The bard decided to throw down the fiendish figurine of wondrous power only to have the griffon join the battle on the side of the Vrock! Lots of fun.
c) The mind flayer lair lacks...a bedroom. And a waste disposal area, but the PCs specifically went looking for a bedroom. But we've mentioned the lack of key rooms before.
They finally finished, but still aren't 9th level for the Champions Belt, so we're doing to do some side treks until then.