diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 04ca7bc27..bc7103b23 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@ setup-tooling:
 	@command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Install Python 3"; exit 1; }
 	@command -v curl >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Install curl (required for Godot download)"; exit 1; }
 	@command -v unzip >/dev/null 2>&1 || { echo "Install unzip (required for Godot download)"; exit 1; }
+	@python3 -c "import yaml" 2>/dev/null || { echo "Install PyYAML: pip install pyyaml"; exit 1; }
+	@python3 -c "import jsonschema" 2>/dev/null || { echo "Install jsonschema: pip install jsonschema"; exit 1; }
 
 setup-hooks:
 	@git config core.hooksPath .config/hooks
@@ -130,9 +132,11 @@ golden-diff:
 	@echo "Regenerating golden output for comparison..."
 	@mkdir -p .cache/golden
 	@cp server/tests/golden/proof_room_tick_10.json .cache/golden/before.json
-	@cd server && UPDATE_GOLDEN=1 cargo test --test golden_suite -- proof_room_tick_10_matches_golden
-	@cp server/tests/golden/proof_room_tick_10.json .cache/golden/after.json
-	@cp .cache/golden/before.json server/tests/golden/proof_room_tick_10.json
+	@cd server && UPDATE_GOLDEN=1 cargo test --test golden_suite -- proof_room_tick_10_matches_golden; \
+		rc=$$?; \
+		cp ../server/tests/golden/proof_room_tick_10.json ../.cache/golden/after.json 2>/dev/null; \
+		cp ../.cache/golden/before.json ../server/tests/golden/proof_room_tick_10.json; \
+		if [ $$rc -ne 0 ]; then echo "Cargo test failed (golden file restored)."; exit $$rc; fi
 	@if diff -q .cache/golden/before.json .cache/golden/after.json >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
 		echo "--- Golden file: UP TO DATE ---"; \
 	else \
@@ -229,7 +233,7 @@ pre-pr-server: lint-server build-server test-server pre-pr-fixtures
 pre-pr-client: lint-client build-client test-client
 	@echo "=== Client pre-PR: PASSED ==="
 
-pre-pr-content: validate-content check-fact-ids
+pre-pr-content: validate-content check-fact-ids checklist-validate
 	@echo "=== Content pre-PR: PASSED ==="
 
 # --- CI (run locally) ---
diff --git a/content/_schema/checklist.schema.json b/content/_schema/checklist.schema.json
index 4b05f272d..ca8ae582a 100644
--- a/content/_schema/checklist.schema.json
+++ b/content/_schema/checklist.schema.json
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@
       "minLength": 1,
       "description": "Human-readable room name"
     },
+    "scope": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "enum": ["per_room", "cross_room"],
+      "description": "Checklist scope: per_room (default) or cross_room"
+    },
     "description": {
       "type": "string"
     },
@@ -40,7 +45,7 @@
     "condition_id": {
       "type": "string",
       "pattern": "^[a-z][a-z0-9_-]*$",
-      "description": "Unique condition identifier within this checklist"
+      "description": "Globally unique condition identifier across all checklists. Use room_id prefix (e.g., inv-item-present, occ-wall-visible)."
     },
     "player_near": {
       "type": "object",
diff --git a/content/gauntlet/cross_room_checks.yaml b/content/gauntlet/cross_room_checks.yaml
index 6890cd850..12e49ef58 100644
--- a/content/gauntlet/cross_room_checks.yaml
+++ b/content/gauntlet/cross_room_checks.yaml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+scope: cross_room
 description: "Cross-room checks applied to every Gauntlet room visit."
 conditions:
   - id: cross-player-entity-present
diff --git a/tooling/validate-checklist b/tooling/validate-checklist
index 30a0699fc..727985087 100755
--- a/tooling/validate-checklist
+++ b/tooling/validate-checklist
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ GAUNTLET_DIR = ROOT / "content" / "gauntlet"
 
 
 def load_schema():
+    if not SCHEMA_PATH.exists():
+        print(f"ERROR: Schema file not found at {_rel(SCHEMA_PATH)}")
+        print("Expected: content/_schema/checklist.schema.json")
+        sys.exit(1)
     with open(SCHEMA_PATH) as f:
         return json.load(f)