o m g! I GOT SUIKODEN 3!HELP!

[Shiz]

im at brass castle now, but i have tons of questions:

1) explain the fighting system (so confusing lol)
2) what runs should i buy and what do they do
3) does it matter where i plce my chars?
4)whats the apprasial shop
5)how do i use magic, and i didnt reall understand the bookstore (said something about a training place to raise magic)
6) is there anything i should know?(im geodde)

any tips or anything would be great, i really dont get ANYTHING so i bet i left out a whole bunch of questions

thanks guys, WOOO HOOO i got it!battle system is fast, nice!