3.5 Unarmed Strike Questions

[samduke]

3.5 Unarmed Strike Questions
Q: Do these Feats & Items Stack and work the way I think they do for a NON-Monk for the purpose of Unarmed Strikes?

3.5 Mon Effective Level Items Question
Fanged Ring: grants IUAS & INA feats
Superior Unarmed Strike: might apply to non-monk

Monk's Belt: grants 5 Effective Monk Levels
Monk's Tattoo: grants 4 Effective Monk Levels
Gauntlets of the Talon: might grant 5 Effective Monk Levels

Q: are there any other Items that grant a non-monk - Effective Monk Levels for the purpose of Unarmed Strikes?

No Classes just Items or Feats

[SirNibbles]

3.5 Unarmed Strike Questions
Q: Do these Feats & Items Stack and work the way I think they do for a NON-Monk for the purpose of Unarmed Strikes?

3.5 Mon Effective Level Items Question
Fanged Ring: grants IUAS & INA feats
Superior Unarmed Strike: might apply to non-monk

Monk's Belt: grants 5 Effective Monk Levels
Monk's Tattoo: grants 4 Effective Monk Levels
Gauntlets of the Talon: might grant 5 Effective Monk Levels

Q: are there any other Items that grant a non-monk - Effective Monk Levels for the purpose of Unarmed Strikes?

No Classes just Items or Feats

Since you have effective Monk levels (for the purpose of UAS damage) from your items, it could apply as if you were a Monk, and thus raise your UAS as if your Monk level was 4 higher. By the strictest RAW I would say it does not work in your situation since you do not have any actual Monk levels and are thus not a Monk. The same goes for Gauntlets of the Talon.

"If you are a monk, you instead deal unarmed damage as a monk four levels higher." - Superior Unarmed Strike: Tome of Battle, page 33

"If a monk dons the gauntlets of the talon, she is treated as if she were five levels higher..." - Gauntlet of the Talon: Complete Divine, page 97

A DM could easily go either way.

"The wearer’s AC and unarmed damage is treated as a monk of five levels higher...If the character is not a monk, she gains the AC and unarmed damage of a 5th-level monk." - Monk's Belt: SRD

One could interpret that as saying you're a monk for the purpose of anything which improves a monk's UAS and/or AC bonus.

__

The Monk's Tattoo states that you must have Monk levels for it to function, thus it does not work.

"The abilities of this tattoo do not stack with the abilities of another monk’s tattoo, nor does the tattoo grant any abilities to a nonmonk character." - Magic of Faerûn, page 163

[HouseRules]

RAI:
Your Effective Class Level for any Base or Prestige Class is Zero.
Thus, anything that gains levels will add to Zero which becomes a Positive Effective Class Level.
Reason:
You could always multiclass into any Base Class.
You could always multiclass into any Prestige Class you qualify for except for Epic during pre-Epic Levels.
You are younger if you begin as a Rogue and switch to Wizard than to get Wizard as a starting class.

RAW:
Only the Specific Items, such as Monk's Belt, which describes as if you have an Effective Class Level of Zero counts.
Other classes do not get the benefits.