Wand/Rod of Fire Bolts does how much damage? More for mages?

[danbang]

How much damage is done by, say, a Wand of (let's say) Fire Bolts? Is it the same as a Rod of Fire Bolts? A Staff (if there is such a thing)?

I had sort of assumed it would be the same as if I, as a mage, cast the same spell, so I could look up the damage by Browsing my magic books. Then I realized that, not only does my damage increase as I gain more character levels, but some characters aren't even mages -- by that yardstick, a non-spellcaster would do no damage when using a wand, which is ridiculous.

What about Frost Bolts, instead of Fire Bolts? What about Lightning Bolts vs Lightning Balls? etc. etc. Would love to know.

If it's too much of a spoiler, then at least tell me: does damage from a wand/rod increase as my character level increases? In other words, as my own Fire Bolt (say) spell gains more damage with a rise in my character level, are my offensive magic items worth less because they stay at the same damage even as I descend the dungeon levels to face fiercer monsters?

Thanks for any !Wisdom or =Wisdom or "Wisdom you can send my way.

[tom]

Hail and well met, outlander!

You can use the 'I' command to examine an item. That will tell you the damage done by rods/wands. Damage does increase a bit as your 'magic devices' skill improves, but probably not as much as spellbook spells increase with character level.

May you not perish by grim misadventure this yuletide, and may the baby iluvatar bestow rings of speed on you an all your brethren etc.

[sffp]

Yes - use "I" on the item to learn the damage (usually given as an average)
Use "b" to browse books to see the exact damage is 3d4 or 2d6 that your spells do (also given with an average)

the damage will depend on the level of the caster.
For example the Crush spell of a nec will kill anything with 4xlevel or less hp left
rods/wands are given an set of dice plus a percentage for "device skill"

My rod of frost bolts will do 12d8 damage plus 28% of an average of 69.1 damage
My chance of success is 96% (Make sure to pay attention to that.

My Balance Dragon Scale Mail activates for a cone of sound/disenchant/shards/chaos (my choice or random) dealing 250 damage at the source (fist contact)
But it's chance of success is 35% so not to be counted on!