feat(novel): DATA/plot.md - the story baseline (main line + side-story register)

The pack had a premise (a few sentences), per-book summaries and a weekly timeline,
but no single spine saying what the main line is and which threads are side stories.

plot.md is the one prose file in DATA/: the author's telling, split into backbone
beats, an explicit side-story register, the verbatim transcription (spoken tellings
are expected - dictating into a note app is often the easiest way to produce a
baseline), deviations once the novel departs from it, and open threads.

The hierarchy is written into the file so it cannot drift: plot.md is INTENT, the
manuscript is REALISED, the wiki is DETAIL; on conflict the agent reports instead of
silently picking. Side stories are first-class - an unregistered thread is invisible
to the agent.

Wired in: SCHEMA (tree, naming table, new 5.4), templates/DATA/plot.md,
OpenNovelAgent load list + read-both-backbone-and-side-stories rule, /init asks for
a spoken telling and scaffolds the file, Importer maps fragments into it,
StoryReviewer measures chapters against it.

novel/.opencode/agent/Importer.md

@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Classify the source into ONE of two cases by inspecting the directory:
 
 ### Case A — Existing OpenNovelWriter project
 
-**Signals:** a `DATA/` folder with `wiki.yaml.md`, `timeline.yaml.md`, `glossary.yaml.md`,
+**Signals:** a `DATA/` folder with `wiki.yaml.md`, `timeline.yaml.md`, `glossary.yaml.md`, `plot.md`,
 chapter folders like `01/DE/`, and an `.opencode/` with agent files.
 
 **Action:** this is a *reset/upgrade*. Preserve all DATA files and chapters, and
@@ -146,3 +146,24 @@ Approve to write?
   <faithful>Extract and summarize; never invent story facts.</faithful>
   <approve>Present the mapping plan before writing.</approve>
 </principles>
+
+
+## Extracting the story baseline — `DATA/plot.md`
+
+Sources usually carry the story in fragments rather than one spine: per-book summaries
+(`Zusammenfassung.md`), a premise paragraph, weekly timeline notes, chapter titles, idea
+files. Reconstruct them into `plot.md`:
+
+- **§1 Backbone** — the beats that must happen, per book. An existing manuscript's chapter
+  titles are legitimate raw material: they already encode the spine in order. Mark
+  anything inferred as *inferred*, and never invent a beat no source supports.
+- **§2 Side stories** — threads you can point to in the source (a subplot with its own
+  characters, a mystery spanning chapters, a secondary family), each with the file you
+  took it from. **Flag them as candidates** for the author; never promote a fragment to a
+  canonical side story on your own.
+- **§3 Baseline telling** — only if the source holds a first-person telling or transcript.
+  Verbatim, dated.
+- **§4 Deviations** — left empty on import; it fills as the novel departs from the baseline.
+
+Never discard the summaries you drew from: `plot.md` holds the spine, the originals stay
+as detail. Report what was mapped and what could not be placed.

novel/.opencode/agent/OpenNovelAgent.md

@@ -48,16 +48,31 @@ The author is the creative authority. You are the partner who does the work:
 BEFORE you draft, revise, or translate a chapter, you MUST load:
 
 1. `AGENTS.md`               — project rules (languages, genre, audience)
-2. `DATA/style.md`           — the author's voice (MANDATORY)
+2. `DATA/plot.md`            — the story baseline: the main line + the side stories (MANDATORY)
-3. `DATA/wiki.yaml.md`       — the world wiki (characters, places, magic)
+3. `DATA/style.md`           — the author's voice (MANDATORY)
-4. `DATA/timeline.yaml.md`   — the timeline (what has happened so far)
+4. `DATA/wiki.yaml.md`       — the world wiki (characters, places, magic)
-5. `DATA/glossary.yaml.md`   — translations (when translating)
+5. `DATA/timeline.yaml.md`   — the timeline (what has happened so far)
+6. `DATA/glossary.yaml.md`   — translations (when translating)
 
 WHY: Without these files you produce generic AI prose instead of continuing the
 author's story. Inconsistent names, wrong tone, contradictions with the world =
 wasted work.
 
 CONSEQUENCE OF SKIPPING: Work that doesn't fit the established world = rework.
+
+**The baseline is intent, not a cage.** `DATA/plot.md` holds the main line AND an
+explicit register of side stories. Read both:
+
+- Side stories are expected — they are what makes the world feel lived-in. Never treat
+  the backbone as the only permitted material. If you invent a thread that is worth
+  keeping, add it to the side-story register in `plot.md` (same turn, no extra question).
+- The backbone is what must happen; the side stories are how it feels. A chapter that
+  advances neither is a chapter to reconsider.
+- If the manuscript and the baseline disagree, do not silently pick one: report the
+  conflict and ask. The written novel outranks the baseline for what is *realised*; the
+  baseline outranks it for what is *planned*.
+- If the author dictates a fresh telling, it goes into `plot.md` as a new dated section —
+  never overwrite the earlier one.
 </critical_context_requirement>
 
 <critical_rules priority="absolute" enforcement="strict">

novel/.opencode/agent/StoryReviewer.md

@@ -92,3 +92,17 @@ and suggest improvements. You report; you never rewrite.
   <specific>Cite the exact passage; no vague critique.</specific>
   <report_only>Critique and suggest; never rewrite.</report_only>
 </principles>
+
+
+## Measuring against the baseline — `DATA/plot.md`
+
+Review the manuscript against the baseline, not against itself:
+
+1. **Backbone coverage** — is every §1 beat written, placed in a chapter, or still open?
+   Report beats that have gone missing (the usual failure: a beat the author told once and
+   nobody wrote down).
+2. **Side-story presence** — which registered side stories appear in the written chapters,
+   which have stalled, which were never placed?
+3. **Unregistered threads** — anything in the manuscript doing side-story work but absent
+   from the register. Those are the ones that will contradict something later.
+4. **Deviations** — where the novel has left the baseline, so §4 stays honest.

novel/.opencode/command/init.md

@@ -47,11 +47,23 @@ content in that language. Map the language to its ISO code in
 
 Ask these questions one at a time. Record the answers:
 
-1. **Basic plot / premise** — the most important question:
+1. **The baseline telling** — the most important question, and the one the author is
-   > "Tell me the basic plot — what is the story about? What is to come?"
+   most likely to want to *speak* rather than type:
+   > "Tell me the story — what happens, from the beginning to the end? Take your time."
     
-   The author describes the story in a few sentences. This is the SEED: you will
+   Say explicitly that a **spoken telling is welcome**: many authors dictate into a
-   use it to pre-fill the world wiki and timeline, and to start building the world.
+   note app and paste the transcript. If the author pastes one, keep it **verbatim**
+   in `DATA/plot.md` §3 — do not tidy it, ASR errors and all; it is the author's voice.
+    
+   Then split it into:
+   - **`plot.md` §1 Backbone** — the beats that must happen, one per line;
+   - **`plot.md` §2 Side stories** — every thread that is not the main line: whose
+     story it is, which books it spans, its status. Ask *"What else is going on
+     besides the main line?"* — side stories are expected, not optional.
+    
+   **Keep asking until the author says there is nothing left to tell.** The telling is
+   the seed for the wiki and the timeline, and the baseline every chapter is measured
+   against.
 
 2. **Series title** (for metadata; defaults to the folder/workspace name)
 3. **Sequel or standalone?**
@@ -95,9 +107,12 @@ created and named):
 
 ### Step 4: Populate the DATA files
 
+- **`plot.md`** → §1 backbone beats from the telling, §2 the side-story register, §3 the
+  verbatim transcription if the author dictated. The agent measures every chapter
+  against this file, so never leave §1 or §2 empty.
 - **`wiki.yaml.md`** → `meta:` block with the answers from Step 2 (title, author,
-  canonical, languages, genre, audience). Also fill `concept.premise:` with the
+  canonical, languages, genre, audience). `concept.premise:` gets the SHORT premise —
-  basic plot from Step 2, question 1.
+  `plot.md` holds the long form.
 - **`timeline.yaml.md`** → `story:` MUST be seeded with the premise as the first
   entry. Do NOT leave it empty. Example:
 

novel/docs/SCHEMA.md

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ Novels/                              # the container vault (Obsidian)
 │   │   ├── wiki.yaml.md             # world wiki (canonical)
 │   │   ├── timeline.yaml.md         # timeline (lore history + plot)
 │   │   ├── glossary.yaml.md         # translation glossary
+│   │   ├── plot.md                  # the story baseline: main line + side stories
 │   │   └── style.md                 # the author's writing style
 │   ├── 01/                          # Book 1 (folder = number, title optional)
 │   │   ├── DE/                      # language folder (ISO-639-1 code)
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ own, make the *book folder* a git repository — not the vault.)
 | **Language folder** | ISO-639-1 code (code only) | `DE`, `EN`, `PT` |
 | **Chapter file** | localized chapter word + 3-digit number | `Kapitel 001.md` |
 | **Chapter number** | 3 digits, zero-padded | `001` … `100` |
-| **DATA files** | fixed English names | `wiki.yaml.md`, `timeline.yaml.md`, `glossary.yaml.md` |
+| **DATA files** | fixed English names | `wiki.yaml.md`, `timeline.yaml.md`, `glossary.yaml.md`, `plot.md` |
 
 **Chapter word per language** (defined in `.opencode/languages.yaml`):
 - `de` → `Kapitel`
@@ -158,6 +159,52 @@ terms:
 
 ---
 
+### 5.4 `plot.md` — the Story Baseline
+
+The one DATA file that is **prose, not YAML**. It carries the author's own telling of
+the story — the spine that both author and agent build around — and an explicit register
+of the side stories that weave around it.
+
+```markdown
+# Plot — <series title>
+
+> Baseline = the author's telling. It is the *main line*, not the whole story:
+> side stories, subplots and new characters are expected and MUST be recorded here,
+> or they are invisible to the agent.
+
+## 1. Backbone — what must happen
+### Book 1 — <title>
+1. beat …
+2. beat …
+
+## 2. Side stories (register)
+| thread | whose story | spans | status |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| … | … | book 1–2 | planned / placed / written |
+
+## 3. Baseline telling (verbatim, dated)
+Paste the transcription here, newest first. Never delete an older telling.
+
+## 4. Deviations — where the written novel left the baseline
+## 5. Open threads / unresolved questions
+```
+
+**Rules**
+
+1. **Hierarchy:** `plot.md` is *intent* (what should happen), the manuscript is
+   *realised* (what is written), `Notizen/`/`wiki.yaml.md` is *detail canon*. On conflict,
+   the agent **reports** rather than silently picking; the author rules per case.
+2. **The telling is verbatim material.** Spoken word transcribed by a note app is full of
+   errors, especially in invented names. Keep it as it came — it is the author's voice —
+   but when anything from it is *used*, normalise names against `wiki.yaml.md` and the
+   glossary first.
+3. **Side stories are first-class.** A thread that is not in the register does not exist
+   as far as the agent is concerned. Add it the moment it is invented.
+4. **Never delete a telling.** Re-recordings are appended as new dated sections; the older
+   one is history and shows how the story grew.
+
+---
+
 ## 6. Chapter Conventions
 
 - One `.md` file per chapter.

novel/templates/DATA/plot.md

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+# Plot — {{SERIES_TITLE}}
+
+> **Baseline = the author's telling.** This is the main line of the story, not the
+> whole of it: side stories, subplots and new characters are expected — and they MUST
+> be recorded in section 2, or the agent cannot see them.
+>
+> Hierarchy: this file is *intent*, the manuscript is *realised*, the wiki is *detail*.
+> Where they disagree, report it and let the author rule — never silently pick one.
+
+## 1. Backbone — what must happen
+
+### Book 1 — {{BOOK_1_TITLE}}
+1. {{BEAT}}
+2. {{BEAT}}
+
+### Book 2 — {{BOOK_2_TITLE}}
+1. {{BEAT}}
+
+## 2. Side stories (register)
+
+| thread | whose story | spans | status |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| {{THREAD}} | {{CHARACTER}} | book 1 | planned |
+
+Status values: `idea` → `planned` → `placed` (a chapter is assigned) → `written`.
+
+## 3. Baseline telling (verbatim, dated)
+
+### {{DATE}} — first telling
+
+{{Paste the transcription here, exactly as it came. Do not tidy it.}}
+
+## 4. Deviations — where the written novel left the baseline
+
+| chapter | baseline said | novel does | ruling |
+|---|---|---|---|
+
+## 5. Open threads / unresolved questions
+
+- {{QUESTION}}