I believe that a lot of us does/did play paper DnD. On the other hand, regarding your spells question, try pressing the "H" key; your icon will change into a question mark ("?"). Then, select a spell in your radial menu, clicking the left mouse button, and it'll open a description of the spell.
R = rogue M = Monk X = NPC RXM I use rogues in combination with monks quite often (maxed out tumble). Give the rogue and monk combat reflexes and the monk improved trip. Have the monk make a trip attack, NPC goes down and the monk and rogue go to work.
That sounds like a good tactic. Do NPC's level up when you are not using them? Or do they only gain experiance when in your party. Or are their levels set? What's the deal with the pre made giant character? Is he good?
NPC's only gain XP when they are in your party. Some start out at different levels than others (example: Zaxis level 5, Meleny Level 1). But the only way to level'em up is to have'em in your party. And the premade "Giant" character is a half-orc. Giant is his name. He sucks. They all suck. I always make my own.