diff --git a/skills/shiplog/brainstorm.md b/skills/shiplog/brainstorm.md
index fbcf456..14bfd58 100644
--- a/skills/shiplog/brainstorm.md
+++ b/skills/shiplog/brainstorm.md
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ description: "Phase 1: Capture brainstorming output as a GitHub issue with struc
    - **Internal claims** about this repository's code, tests, configuration, or committed docs can be verified from the repo itself.
    - **External claims** about third-party tools, URLs, APIs, platform capabilities must be verified against primary sources before they are stated as facts.
    - If an external claim cannot be verified yet, keep it explicitly marked as `[unverified]` and treat it as a hypothesis, not settled input.
+   - Do not turn an unverified claim into a task requirement, acceptance criterion, or architectural decision without a verification step.
 
 3. **Quiet Mode: defer capture.** Do not create the `--log` PR yet — the feature branch does not exist until branch setup. Save the brainstorm content locally and use it as the opening entry when the `--log` PR is created.
 
@@ -43,6 +44,10 @@ Issue body content:
 kind: state
 status: open
 phase: 1
+readiness: needs-design
+task_count: 2
+tasks_complete: 0
+max_tier: tier-1
 updated_at: <ISO_TIMESTAMP>
 -->
 
diff --git a/skills/shiplog/references/artifact-envelopes.md b/skills/shiplog/references/artifact-envelopes.md
index 5e0469d..eabfb89 100644
--- a/skills/shiplog/references/artifact-envelopes.md
+++ b/skills/shiplog/references/artifact-envelopes.md
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ Use triage fields on issue-body `state` envelopes so agents can rank work withou
 - **`updated_by`:** normalized like the signature body without the role prefix — e.g., `openai/gpt-5.4 (codex, effort: high)`.
 - **`edit_kind`:** use `correction` for factual or signature fixes, `amendment` for clarifications that preserve the original event, `rewrite` for substantial in-place rewrites, and `cosmetic` only when recording a non-semantic cleanup intentionally.
 - **Amendment/supersession references:** use the same `<artifact-location>#<kind>` format for `amends`, `supersedes`, and `superseded_by`.
-- **Supersession references:** `<artifact-location>#<kind>` - e.g., `issue/42#state` or `pr/55#verification`. See Section 3 for resolution.
+- **Supersession references:** `<artifact-location>#<kind>` - e.g., `issue/42#state` or `pr/55#verification`. See �3 for resolution.
 - **Triage integers:** use bare integers, not quoted strings.
 - **`readiness`:** use only `ready`, `blocked`, `needs-design`, `in-progress`, or `done`.
 - **`max_tier`:** use `tier-1`, `tier-2`, or `tier-3`; omit it when all tasks are complete.