ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

Comparing CD's of a mage before and after wearing a pick axe of strength +3 (dropped by Ungol), it seems strange that my attack increases by 1 point, but the damage stays the same. Am I missing something here? Or is a different stat used for damage calculations?

Predawn

Look the description of your staff, the damage is based on Magic stat

Thanks for the clarification.
(Now I know what the numbers mean.)
I had thought it adjusted your effective stat level when used.

Rebel.

Well anything that says it's (for example) +3 strength, it adds 3 to your strength stat. If that change actually does anything if something else entirely though.