> and I've wondered a few things...
>
> are assassins really worth the class switch? (i.e; what makes them better then knights)

Yes. But not until you're down in dungeon level 8-9 or so. A fully trained assassin will normally be able to take out an entire monster group in one round. Moreover, the AC they gain will be important toward the end of the game, where maxxing out AC will be important.

> Should my "melee" members also have a decent amount of spells unlocked?

By the end, I like to have at least five spellcasters, so yes. Even in earlier levels, it's nice to have 4 rather than 5. Sometimes the reason isn't so much because you'll want a melee dude casting spells in combat but because you have that many more collective spell points. But it's not critical.

> my current team is 2 Knights, 1 Rogue, 1 Druid, 1 Sorceress & 1 Wizardess. am I in serious need of some re-classing/training?

Not yet. That's a decent line-up for where you are right now. But ultimately you're the one who can best make that judgment. If you find yourself running out of spell points a lot sooner than you'd like, or if you find yourself needing better healing power in combat, etc, then it's worth considering some retraining. But if you're not stuck in the game and unable to advance effectively, your current line-up is probably fine.

Usually when the most retraining happens is about level 9. By that time, all your spellcasters have completed learning their spells, which is when you normally want to retrain them. A great plan at that time is to retrain non-spellcasters to spellcasters and vice versa, or swap spellcasters around so they learn the other set of spells.

About the only thing I'd suggest at this point, as your spellcasters should continue in their current classes until they learn all the spells, is possibly retraining one of your knights to a spellcaster. I'm not necessarily recommending that you should; either doing that or staying as you are would be good plans. It sort of depends on how much you'd like extra spells and if you think you could live without one of your fighters for a while.

It's been a while, so I don't remember all the details, but the relative value of spellcasters vs. fighters fluctuates as the game goes on. Sometimes one is more valuable, while at other points in the game the other is more valuable.

> and if I give my all/most my characters some re-classing(1 or 2 at a time), how many hours of play would I be looking at before getting them back up to "usable" levels?

Less than you'd think. Immediately after retraining a character, you'll be building that character up with the experience gained from deeper monsters. On your first mission back from retraining a character, it's not uncommon to gain 6-8 levels at once. But it sort of depends on how deep you are in the dungeon. The deeper you are, the faster you'll be able to rebuild them. The one catch is not to overestimate your abilities after retraining. The first mission out after retraining, you have to be more cautious than before, because you basically have to count that character out. The second or third mission after retraining, and that character becomes useful again.

Paradoxically, if you wait longer to retrain (thereby losing more experience when you DO reset that experience count back to zero), you'll be able to rebuild the characters faster. Because you'll be deeper in the dungeon later, and the experience you accrue from combat gets exponentially greater. Another reason why dungeon level 8-9 is so nice for retraining.

> and a side note: my first time in the level 4 town there was a sword for sale that I didn't have the money for, "blade of power". I've come to realize it was a rare item, I missed out on a rather rare chance to get one so early in the game didn't I?

Wow. I don't think I've ever even SEEN one of those in a shop. I didn't even remember it was POSSIBLE to see one of those in a shop. Alas. You'll get one eventually, though.