Oh god. I think I read about that battle you're talking about on the Bioware boards. I think it would crash my computer! Sounds fun though.
(((((((((((((((((((((( Improved Gronmir ))))))))))))))))))))))
Well, I was trying out the Gronmirs last night. Once again I would definitely say I like the improved battle a lot more than the original, but there are not a lot of big differences really. Gronmir and his friends use some special abilities like greater whirlwinds and assassination. Gronmir also entangles you and slows you (and diseases you?) with each hit.
Gronmir himself is a very tough melee opponent, I found that one on one he could kill any of my melee fighters, but not two of them or more
One of Gronmirs buddies (the one with the spear) has attacks that dispel your protections. His mage buddy Karun the Black casts higher level spells than in the unimproved, including "wail of the banshee".
There are a couple of extra enemies: a nymph, and minotaur and a big cheetah-thing. They are not any big deal but they do liven things up a little. Because of them the encounter is worth more experience (about 25,000 more) than the regular version. The treasure is about the same, you get some gems and some potions of superior healing but only one staff +2 instead of two. The spear fighter has a set of full plate +1 instead of regular plate mail.