I am new to DSA and feel like I am doing something wrong :)

How can I reduce the times my characters fumble a spell or miss the target?

The dwarf with a one handed weapon and shield actual hits quite well, but I try to skill my main character with two handed blunt weapons. He hits about one out of 6 or 7 times he attacks with 'Wuchtschlag' for example.

Is it the weapon skill, which defines the hit-chance or the attack value?

What do I need to increase for the mage to be more reliable in a fight? I know he is distracted if he is directly attacked by melee enemies. He wears cloths without penalties.

Bandages, I never had a chance to use them really. There are 5 enemies and one of my guys goes down, then it's the other guy's turn with the one bandage. I walk up to him and then have to wait for the enemies turns, which is usually more than three and my party-member is dead while I was waiting...

//edit: this seems like a good resource: http://www.blackguards-game.com/guide/
However, a straight answer on how to just hit more often would be nice :)

p.s. no worry, I'll start over and go hunter with traps this time. So I got my tanky dwarf (who is really tough), the mage for mainly healing/protection (he is crap with ranged weapons) and myself as all-rounder ranged/melee damage, support with traps (detection, disarm), running around on the battle field, sing encouraging songs and so on.
Before my main damage came from the dwarf tank as the only one who actual hits stuff, the difference of one handed and two handed weapons in this game seems very low (probably 1/5 less damage with one handed) and with one handed you can wear a shield.

The 2 ways to increase melee to-hit chances are:
(1) increase attributes tied to "Attack";
(2) increase your weapon talent for that weapon category.

The former maxes out ("Base Values") around 10-11, but you'll see what your weapon talent adds w/ "Overall Values".

In the early part of the game, when AP are sparsely given out, pump your weapon stats; not only will it help w/ attack, but parry (and maybe even dodge) as well. Attributes (which max at 18) take a lot of AP.

I just finished a 2nd playthrough, w/ main PC a Warrior. Recommend 2-h swords for him/her w/ bows as secondary weapon, leaving Naurim the dwarf w/ 2-h bashing weapons + crossbow for ranged attacks.

Keep in mind there will always be a chance to miss an attack or spell, no matter how good you are at it (shown as a percentage).

As for bandages, just ignore them. It takes a fair amount of Treat Wounds to successfully use a bandage, and those AP can be better spent I've found. There's a fixed amount of AP available in the game, so you want to carve out very specific paths for the PC and companions. This means for your mages, don't go crazy trying to learn a ton of spells. Learn a handful of them well and ignore the rest. Don't waste time w/ direct damage spells beyond the 2nd tier (8 pts); buffs and healing and curing spells are the best spells IMO. Max healing, dispel magic and 1 more of your choice. The other spells you pick up don't need more than the 2nd tier threshold. In my experience anyway. You will find some fights where Move as the Lightning is worth its weight in ducats!

Have fun, this is a great game (keeping in mind some battles will make you tear your hair out).

Thanks Ben, this is really helpful.

I like the clever saving system, which is essential in this game, so you can always repeat a fight or even step down from one. :)

Other piece of advice re: the 2 weapon sets each PC has. For the melee types, you'll find parts of the game where it's helpful to have a backup main melee weapon for that 3rd slot, b/c some things you need to attack and destroy (crystals for example that regenerate your opponents) are immune to magic. So, say, if your best 2-h sword does magic damage, make sure you keep a backup that does slashing damage.

Best overall damage you can inflict is infantry damage, which comes from certain 2-h weapons. Naurim and Takate will get very good weapons in this category.

As you may already know, when you get Weaponcraft maxed at 18, you can switch between weapon sets w/out losing a turn. However, if you're switching from ranged to melee, make sure you take your move action before switching, or you will essentially have lost your attack anyway.

Yes, the save system is great. If things are going south badly in a fight, start over. I keep a master save before I journey to a fight (though not all fights are optional!), so if I'm not ready for it, I can come back later and try again. A quicksave (F5) accomplishes the same thing (though you can't use it IN a fight).

Glad I could offer some advice. Enjoy.