Monk after 15 worth it?

[Darigaaz the Igniter]

Is there much reason to continue taking Monk levels after 15? You can make up the unarmed damage and AC bonus with a monk's robe, and the abilities look pretty meh to me. Only thing I can see you really missing out on is the extra 10' movement and all good saves.

[Zaister]

For me, level 13 was the cutoff point when I played a monk in a Council of Thieves campaign. The spell resistance ability is much more a hindrance than a benefit for a martial character that works in a group that has spellcasters. I'd say nine times out of ten, if a spell was cast on my character in combat, it was by an ally and not an opponent. And, really, the last thing you want to as a monk is waste a round using your standard action to lower your spell resistance, so you can be hasted, healed, or what have you, when instead you could rather make six or seven attacks as a full-round action.

Spoilers for Council of Thieves, especially part six:

Once our group reached 13th level I was ready to switch to fighter levels instead, but - as my character had been suggested as a candidate for new Lord Mayor of Westcrown - my GM offered me the choice of taking two levels of an NPC class instead, namely aristocrat. Since this was already close to the end of the campaign and thus the last time for our characters to level, I think it was a nice idea. And I was happy that I wasn't hindered by spell resistance against allied spells in the final fight of the campaign.

[Darigaaz the Igniter]

Fair enough, but what about Ki Mystic or Quingong monks who can replace the SR?

[Mort the Cleverly Named]

I absolutely wouldn't stop at 15. 16 is where you get adamantine ki pool, the ability to blind with Stunning Fist, an unarmed damage improvement, and an extra point to ki, AC, saves, and BaB.

Even after that, the Monk has some goodies and tricks. Admittedly, most of them are circumstantial, but you are still upping the DC of your Quivering Palm, or whatever tricks you picked up with Qinggong. And the nice saves, extra ki, etc. Depending on archetype, you might have other stuff to look forward to. The capstone is also pretty nice, if not ridiculously powerful as far as capstones go.

So, while there is a case to be made for grabbing a few Fighter levels for feats or something else for variety, I wouldn't say the Monk has nothing to offer. Whether it is "worth it" is really going to depend on your build, goals, and preferences.

[Zaister]

Darigaaz the Igniter wrote:

Fair enough, but what about Ki Mystic or Quingong monks who can replace the SR?

For monks with archetypes that replace spell resistance the problem I faced does not exist. I was just talking about what I had encountered with my character.

[Interzone]

Yeah, basically for some builds yes for some no, it really depends.
Martial Artists are gonna love those high levels.