question? Couldn't the monoliths or something cause this contaminant to simply spawn around them in their control radius? The only drawbacks I could see is everything being covered in it, and it constantly screwing with FPS due to people trying to clean it up? Also that it would fuck with the color of everything as it covers the tiles with the contaminant's sprite...
You could also simply not provide it with a graphic maybe so it doesn't clutter the screen, and have it labeled "Taint of Evil" that way it'd make sense for everything in warlock radius to be covered with it.
Also, another option is to make a version of the Monolith called a 'Ward'. Wards work differently from traps. They spawn a certain contaminant around them regularly much as a Monolith spreads it's control through walls, Wards do the same, though possibly have them work on a 25 tile radius that is blocked by LoS so that enemies can potentially shoot them apart and cut a path through them. Anyway, you could have multiple types of wards. From Plague Wards that spread a disease, to Acid Wards that melt shit around them. To Fire Wards (might want to have these work as a 1 time land mine type deal, very briefly raise the temperature around them for 25 tiles, surpassing their own burn/melt point).
Another thought is if wards and monoliths can actually be killed like proper creatures... I'm imagining weird half-organic obilisks like in Clockwork Empires.
Give them a 'heart' so that they can potentially be killed perhaps? Or just rename it to their "Core" or something.
Another neat ward would be a 'Tentacle Ward' another one shot ward. When an enemy comes into radius, it transforms into wild Tentacle Demon that will die after a few months or even after a few minutes. It's not meant to survive, it's meant to just slow the enemy down.
Also what happens to skellies and such that move outside of the monolith's radius? Or is it only wild undead who when they move outside of the radius go to being wild?
Do Monoliths check every so often for warlocks on the map or they otherwise die?
Same for Skelies and Ghouls, do they have to check in with a monolith every so often? If so, how does that work?
We should probably also renamed the Butcher's to something else entirely. Dissection Table for example. Vivisection Table could be it's alternate for dragging living prey too, possibly the reaction there gives more blood and possibly also generates a 'treatise' that counts as a book and can be used to build a library? (very rare chance of that).