diff --git a/tools/audio-fetch-batch.sh b/tools/audio-fetch-batch.sh
index bd35083a..954d1b76 100755
--- a/tools/audio-fetch-batch.sh
+++ b/tools/audio-fetch-batch.sh
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ set -uo pipefail
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 REPO_ROOT="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
-THEME="age-of-dwarves"
-ASSETS_ROOT="$REPO_ROOT/public/games/$THEME/assets"
+# Audio assets live in the shared cross-theme pool, not under any one theme.
+ASSETS_ROOT="$REPO_ROOT/public/resources"
 SOURCES_CSV="$ASSETS_ROOT/audio/sources.csv"
 STAGING="$REPO_ROOT/.local/audio-staging"
 TODAY="$(date -u +%Y-%m-%d)"
@@ -56,31 +56,71 @@ while IFS=$'\t' read -r output_path source_url licence attribution edits; do
     mkdir -p "$(dirname "$full_path")"
 
     stem="$(basename "$output_path" .ogg)"
-    src_ext="${source_url##*.}"
-    case "$src_ext" in
-        wav|ogg|mp3|flac) ;;
-        *) src_ext="bin" ;;
-    esac
-    staged="$STAGING/${stem}.${src_ext}"
 
-    # Convert github.com blob URLs to raw URLs automatically (still allow
-    # raw URLs and other hosts unchanged).
+    # Source URL may be one of:
+    #   1. direct file URL ending in .wav/.ogg/.mp3/.flac
+    #   2. github.com blob URL (auto-converted to raw)
+    #   3. ZIP archive with an inner path: "<zip_url>#<inner/path/inside.wav>"
     fetch_url="$source_url"
-    case "$source_url" in
+    inner_path=""
+    if [[ "$source_url" == *"#"* ]]; then
+        fetch_url="${source_url%%#*}"
+        inner_path="${source_url#*#}"
+    fi
+    case "$fetch_url" in
         https://github.com/*/blob/*)
-            fetch_url="$(echo "$source_url" | sed -e 's|github.com|raw.githubusercontent.com|' -e 's|/blob/|/|')"
+            fetch_url="$(echo "$fetch_url" | sed -e 's|github.com|raw.githubusercontent.com|' -e 's|/blob/|/|')"
             ;;
     esac
 
-    if ! curl -sfL -o "$staged" "$fetch_url"; then
-        echo "  ✗ download failed: $fetch_url" >&2
-        fail=$((fail + 1))
-        continue
+    if [ -n "$inner_path" ]; then
+        # ZIP path: cache the archive once per URL, extract a single
+        # member into staging.
+        zip_hash="$(printf '%s' "$fetch_url" | shasum | cut -c1-8)"
+        zip_cache="$STAGING/_zip_${zip_hash}.zip"
+        zip_extract_dir="$STAGING/_zip_${zip_hash}"
+        if [ ! -f "$zip_cache" ]; then
+            if ! curl -sfL -o "$zip_cache" "$fetch_url"; then
+                echo "  ✗ ZIP download failed: $fetch_url" >&2
+                fail=$((fail + 1))
+                continue
+            fi
+        fi
+        if [ ! -d "$zip_extract_dir" ]; then
+            mkdir -p "$zip_extract_dir"
+            if ! unzip -q -o "$zip_cache" -d "$zip_extract_dir"; then
+                echo "  ✗ ZIP extract failed: $zip_cache" >&2
+                fail=$((fail + 1))
+                continue
+            fi
+        fi
+        staged="$zip_extract_dir/$inner_path"
+        if [ ! -f "$staged" ]; then
+            echo "  ✗ ZIP missing inner file: $inner_path" >&2
+            fail=$((fail + 1))
+            continue
+        fi
+    else
+        src_ext="${fetch_url##*.}"
+        case "$src_ext" in
+            wav|ogg|mp3|flac) ;;
+            *) src_ext="bin" ;;
+        esac
+        staged="$STAGING/${stem}.${src_ext}"
+        if ! curl -sfL -o "$staged" "$fetch_url"; then
+            echo "  ✗ download failed: $fetch_url" >&2
+            fail=$((fail + 1))
+            continue
+        fi
     fi
 
     # loudnorm two-pass would be more accurate, but for SFX one-pass is fine
     # at this scale. Music tracks should be normalised manually with two-pass.
-    if ! ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -loglevel error \
+    # `-nostdin` is critical: without it ffmpeg consumes characters from the
+    # mapping file (the script's stdin), corrupting subsequent iterations'
+    # output_path values. This caused dirs like `c/`, `sic/`, `music/`,
+    # `udio/` to appear instead of the intended `audio/...` paths.
+    if ! ffmpeg -y -nostdin -hide_banner -loglevel error \
         -i "$staged" \
         -af "loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-3:LRA=11,aresample=44100" \
         -c:a libvorbis -b:a 128k \
diff --git a/tools/audio-fetch-options.sh b/tools/audio-fetch-options.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..b7ea29d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/audio-fetch-options.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Pre-fetch every alternative declared in audio-options.json so the
+# design app at /audio can preview them via its dropdown selector.
+#
+# Files land at .local/audio-alternatives/<safe_path>/<idx>.ogg —
+# outside the shipped assets tree, so audio-validate.py's orphan scan
+# is not affected. The design app exposes them via Vite's `@audio-alts`
+# alias.
+#
+# Idempotent: skips alternatives whose .ogg already exists.
+
+set -uo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+REPO_ROOT="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+THEME="${AUDIO_THEME:-age-of-dwarves}"
+OPTIONS_JSON="$REPO_ROOT/public/games/$THEME/data/audio-options.json"
+ALT_ROOT="$REPO_ROOT/.local/audio-alternatives"
+STAGING="$REPO_ROOT/.local/audio-staging"
+
+if [ ! -f "$OPTIONS_JSON" ]; then
+    echo "audio-options.json not found at $OPTIONS_JSON" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+mkdir -p "$ALT_ROOT" "$STAGING"
+
+ok=0
+skip=0
+fail=0
+
+# Walk every (output_path, idx, source_url) triple via python (jq isn't
+# guaranteed everywhere; python3 is). One line per triple, tab-separated.
+mapfile -t ROWS < <(python3 -c "
+import json
+data = json.load(open('$OPTIONS_JSON'))
+for output_path, opts in data.get('options', {}).items():
+    for i, opt in enumerate(opts):
+        url = opt.get('source_url', '')
+        if not url:
+            continue
+        print(f'{output_path}\t{i}\t{url}')
+")
+
+for row in "${ROWS[@]}"; do
+    IFS=$'\t' read -r output_path idx source_url <<< "$row"
+    [ -z "$output_path" ] && continue
+
+    safe_key="$(printf '%s' "$output_path" | tr '/' '_' | sed 's/\.ogg$//')"
+    out_dir="$ALT_ROOT/$safe_key"
+    out_file="$out_dir/$idx.ogg"
+
+    if [ -f "$out_file" ]; then
+        skip=$((skip + 1))
+        continue
+    fi
+
+    echo "→ $output_path[$idx]"
+    mkdir -p "$out_dir"
+
+    fetch_url="$source_url"
+    inner_path=""
+    if [[ "$source_url" == *"#"* ]]; then
+        fetch_url="${source_url%%#*}"
+        inner_path="${source_url#*#}"
+    fi
+    case "$fetch_url" in
+        https://github.com/*/blob/*)
+            fetch_url="$(echo "$fetch_url" | sed -e 's|github.com|raw.githubusercontent.com|' -e 's|/blob/|/|')"
+            ;;
+    esac
+
+    if [ -n "$inner_path" ]; then
+        zip_hash="$(printf '%s' "$fetch_url" | shasum | cut -c1-8)"
+        zip_cache="$STAGING/_zip_${zip_hash}.zip"
+        zip_extract_dir="$STAGING/_zip_${zip_hash}"
+        if [ ! -f "$zip_cache" ]; then
+            if ! curl -sfL -o "$zip_cache" "$fetch_url"; then
+                echo "  ✗ ZIP download failed: $fetch_url" >&2
+                fail=$((fail + 1)); continue
+            fi
+        fi
+        if [ ! -d "$zip_extract_dir" ]; then
+            mkdir -p "$zip_extract_dir"
+            if ! unzip -q -o "$zip_cache" -d "$zip_extract_dir"; then
+                echo "  ✗ ZIP extract failed" >&2
+                fail=$((fail + 1)); continue
+            fi
+        fi
+        staged="$zip_extract_dir/$inner_path"
+        if [ ! -f "$staged" ]; then
+            echo "  ✗ ZIP missing inner file: $inner_path" >&2
+            fail=$((fail + 1)); continue
+        fi
+    else
+        src_ext="${fetch_url##*.}"
+        case "$src_ext" in
+            wav|ogg|mp3|flac) ;;
+            *) src_ext="bin" ;;
+        esac
+        staged="$STAGING/_alt_${safe_key}_${idx}.${src_ext}"
+        if ! curl -sfL -o "$staged" "$fetch_url"; then
+            echo "  ✗ download failed: $fetch_url" >&2
+            fail=$((fail + 1)); continue
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if ! ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -loglevel error \
+        -i "$staged" \
+        -af "loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-3:LRA=11,aresample=44100" \
+        -c:a libvorbis -b:a 128k \
+        "$out_file"; then
+        echo "  ✗ encode failed" >&2
+        fail=$((fail + 1)); continue
+    fi
+    ok=$((ok + 1))
+done
+
+echo ""
+echo "── alternatives summary ────"
+echo "  ok:   $ok"
+echo "  skip: $skip"
+echo "  fail: $fail"
+[ $fail -gt 0 ] && exit 1
+exit 0
diff --git a/tools/audio-licenses-render.py b/tools/audio-licenses-render.py
index db3ccca6..be8524aa 100755
--- a/tools/audio-licenses-render.py
+++ b/tools/audio-licenses-render.py
@@ -168,7 +168,8 @@ def load_rows(csv_path: Path) -> list[dict]:
 
 def validate_rows(rows: list[dict], theme: str) -> list[str]:
     errors: list[str] = []
-    asset_root = REPO / "public" / "games" / theme / "assets"
+    # Audio is shared — lives at public/resources/audio/, not under any theme.
+    asset_root = REPO / "public" / "resources"
     seen_paths: set[str] = set()
     required = {"output_path", "source_url", "license", "attribution",
                 "edits", "added"}
@@ -217,7 +218,10 @@ def main() -> int:
     )
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
-    asset_dir = REPO / "public" / "games" / args.theme / "assets" / "audio"
+    # Audio assets are shared cross-theme; LICENSES.md and sources.csv live
+    # at public/resources/audio/. The `--theme` flag is retained only for
+    # the human-readable header in the rendered file.
+    asset_dir = REPO / "public" / "resources" / "audio"
     sources_csv = asset_dir / "sources.csv"
     licenses_md = asset_dir / "LICENSES.md"
 
diff --git a/tools/audio-reorganize.py b/tools/audio-reorganize.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b2b3d64c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/audio-reorganize.py
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""One-shot reorganization: move audio assets from theme-specific dir to
+shared `public/resources/audio/`, and normalize the SFX layout into a
+consistent flat-categorical structure.
+
+Idempotent enough to re-run if interrupted, but designed for a single pass.
+
+Old layout:
+  public/games/age-of-dwarves/assets/audio/sfx/turn_started.ogg     (flat)
+  public/games/age-of-dwarves/assets/audio/sfx/buildings/...        (nested)
+  public/games/age-of-dwarves/assets/audio/sfx/units/melee_spawn.ogg  (flat-but-named)
+  public/games/age-of-dwarves/assets/audio/sfx/units/melee/...      (nested)
+  public/games/age-of-dwarves/assets/audio/music/...
+
+New layout:
+  public/resources/audio/sfx/<category>/<event>.ogg
+  public/resources/audio/music/<track_id>.ogg
+  public/resources/audio/sources.csv
+  public/resources/audio/LICENSES.md
+
+Categories: ui, city, combat, era, buildings, units/<class>, fauna,
+weather, generic.
+"""
+
+import json, csv, io, shutil, sys, re
+from pathlib import Path
+
+REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+OLD_ROOT  = REPO_ROOT / "public/games/age-of-dwarves/assets/audio"
+NEW_ROOT  = REPO_ROOT / "public/resources/audio"
+MANIFEST  = REPO_ROOT / "public/games/age-of-dwarves/data/audio.json"
+
+# Map of old asset-relative path -> new asset-relative path. The asset-relative
+# part is what shows up as `audio/...` in the manifest streams + sources.csv.
+RENAMES: dict[str, str] = {
+    # ── flat sfx top-level → categorical subfolders ─────────────────────
+    "audio/sfx/turn_started.ogg":       "audio/sfx/ui/turn_started.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/turn_ended.ogg":         "audio/sfx/ui/turn_ended.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/unit_moved.ogg":         "audio/sfx/ui/unit_moved.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/unit_promoted.ogg":      "audio/sfx/ui/unit_promoted.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/border_expanded.ogg":    "audio/sfx/ui/border_expanded.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/research_start.ogg":     "audio/sfx/ui/research_start.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/tech_researched.ogg":    "audio/sfx/ui/tech_researched.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/culture_researched.ogg": "audio/sfx/ui/culture_researched.ogg",
+
+    "audio/sfx/city_founded.ogg":       "audio/sfx/city/city_founded.ogg",
+
+    "audio/sfx/combat_hit.ogg":         "audio/sfx/combat/combat_hit.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/unit_killed.ogg":        "audio/sfx/combat/unit_killed.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/unit_defeated.ogg":      "audio/sfx/combat/unit_defeated.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/unit_victorious.ogg":    "audio/sfx/combat/unit_victorious.ogg",
+
+    "audio/sfx/era_advanced.ogg":       "audio/sfx/era/era_advanced.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/golden_age_swell.ogg":   "audio/sfx/era/golden_age_swell.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/victory_fanfare.ogg":    "audio/sfx/era/victory_fanfare.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/defeat_stinger.ogg":     "audio/sfx/era/defeat_stinger.ogg",
+
+    "audio/sfx/wonder_built.ogg":       "audio/sfx/buildings/wonder_built.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/wonder_built_own.ogg":   "audio/sfx/buildings/wonder_built_own.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/wonder_built_rival.ogg": "audio/sfx/buildings/wonder_built_rival.ogg",
+
+    # ── normalize unit subcategory paths (flat-but-named → nested) ──────
+    "audio/sfx/units/melee_spawn.ogg":   "audio/sfx/units/melee/spawn.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/units/ranged_spawn.ogg":  "audio/sfx/units/ranged/spawn.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/units/siege_hit.ogg":     "audio/sfx/units/siege/hit.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/units/siege_death.ogg":   "audio/sfx/units/siege/death.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/units/support_attack.ogg":"audio/sfx/units/support/attack.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/units/support_hit.ogg":   "audio/sfx/units/support/hit.ogg",
+    "audio/sfx/units/support_death.ogg": "audio/sfx/units/support/death.ogg",
+}
+
+def step_move_files() -> tuple[int, int]:
+    """Move every audio file from OLD_ROOT to NEW_ROOT, applying RENAMES."""
+    moved = 0
+    skipped = 0
+    for src in OLD_ROOT.rglob("*"):
+        if not src.is_file():
+            continue
+        rel = src.relative_to(OLD_ROOT)
+        # The manifest path is "audio/..." — equivalent to the relative path
+        # under OLD_ROOT prefixed with "audio/". So a file at
+        # OLD_ROOT/sfx/turn_started.ogg matches "audio/sfx/turn_started.ogg".
+        manifest_key = f"audio/{rel.as_posix()}"
+        new_manifest_key = RENAMES.get(manifest_key, manifest_key)
+        # Special-case: LICENSES.md and sources.csv at OLD_ROOT root keep
+        # their basename, no "audio/" prefix.
+        if rel.parent == Path("."):
+            new_path = NEW_ROOT / rel.name
+        else:
+            assert new_manifest_key.startswith("audio/")
+            new_path = NEW_ROOT / new_manifest_key[len("audio/"):]
+        new_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        if new_path.exists():
+            skipped += 1
+            continue
+        shutil.move(str(src), str(new_path))
+        moved += 1
+    return moved, skipped
+
+
+def step_update_manifest() -> int:
+    """Rewrite audio.json stream paths."""
+    with open(MANIFEST) as f:
+        data = json.load(f)
+    rewrites = 0
+    for key, entry in data.get("sfx", {}).items():
+        if "stream" in entry and entry["stream"] in RENAMES:
+            entry["stream"] = RENAMES[entry["stream"]]
+            rewrites += 1
+        if "streams" in entry:
+            new_list = []
+            for s in entry["streams"]:
+                if s in RENAMES:
+                    new_list.append(RENAMES[s])
+                    rewrites += 1
+                else:
+                    new_list.append(s)
+            entry["streams"] = new_list
+    # Music tracks didn't move (they were never in the flat-confusion zone),
+    # but defensive.
+    for track in data.get("music", {}).get("tracks", []):
+        if "stream" in track and track["stream"] in RENAMES:
+            track["stream"] = RENAMES[track["stream"]]
+            rewrites += 1
+    with open(MANIFEST, "w") as f:
+        json.dump(data, f, indent=2)
+        f.write("\n")
+    return rewrites
+
+
+def step_update_sources_csv() -> int:
+    """Rewrite output_path column in sources.csv."""
+    csv_path = NEW_ROOT / "sources.csv"
+    if not csv_path.exists():
+        return 0
+    head_lines: list[str] = []
+    body_lines: list[str] = []
+    with open(csv_path) as f:
+        for ln in f:
+            if ln.startswith("#"):
+                head_lines.append(ln)
+            else:
+                body_lines.append(ln)
+    reader = csv.reader(io.StringIO("".join(body_lines)))
+    rows = list(reader)
+    hdr, body = rows[0], rows[1:]
+    op_idx = hdr.index("output_path")
+    rewrites = 0
+    for r in body:
+        if r[op_idx] in RENAMES:
+            r[op_idx] = RENAMES[r[op_idx]]
+            rewrites += 1
+    with open(csv_path, "w") as f:
+        f.writelines(head_lines)
+        w = csv.writer(f)
+        w.writerow(hdr)
+        w.writerows(body)
+    return rewrites
+
+
+def step_remove_old_root() -> None:
+    """Delete OLD_ROOT if empty after the move."""
+    if not OLD_ROOT.exists():
+        return
+    leftover = list(OLD_ROOT.rglob("*"))
+    leftover_files = [p for p in leftover if p.is_file()]
+    if leftover_files:
+        print(f"  WARN: {len(leftover_files)} files remain at {OLD_ROOT}")
+        for p in leftover_files[:5]:
+            print(f"    {p}")
+        return
+    shutil.rmtree(OLD_ROOT)
+    # Walk up and prune empty parent dirs (assets/) but never above public/games/age-of-dwarves
+    parent = OLD_ROOT.parent  # .../assets
+    if parent.is_dir() and not any(parent.iterdir()):
+        parent.rmdir()
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    NEW_ROOT.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    moved, skipped = step_move_files()
+    print(f"moved {moved} files, skipped {skipped} (already at destination)")
+    rewrites = step_update_manifest()
+    print(f"manifest rewrites: {rewrites}")
+    csv_rewrites = step_update_sources_csv()
+    print(f"sources.csv rewrites: {csv_rewrites}")
+    step_remove_old_root()
+    print("done.")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/tools/audio-validate.py b/tools/audio-validate.py
index 67eb5121..fc6670d6 100755
--- a/tools/audio-validate.py
+++ b/tools/audio-validate.py
@@ -5,19 +5,14 @@ Checks (per pack under `public/games/<theme>/data/audio.json`):
 
   1. JSON validates against the schema at
      `public/games/<theme>/data/schemas/audio.schema.json`.
-  2. Every `stream` / `streams[]` path that the manifest references either
-     resolves to a real file under `public/games/<theme>/assets/audio/...`
-     OR is reachable via a `fallback` chain that terminates at the
-     `_silent` sentinel. Files that don't exist trigger a warning, not an
-     error — `p2-16` is the asset-acquisition objective and lands files
-     incrementally.
+  2. Every `stream` / `streams[]` path resolves to a real file under
+     `public/games/<theme>/assets/audio/...`. Missing files warn (the
+     runtime fails loud at playback time via `audio_asset_missing`).
   3. No orphan `.ogg` files: every `.ogg` under `assets/audio/**` is
      referenced by at least one manifest entry. Orphans warn; not fatal.
-  4. Every `fallback` reference is a valid sound key in the same manifest
-     (or `_silent`).
-  5. The `_silent` sentinel exists with an empty `streams: []`.
+  4. `streams[]` arrays are non-empty (no silent-sentinel pattern).
 
-Exit status: non-zero iff a structural problem (1, 4, 5) is found.
+Exit status: non-zero iff a structural problem (1, 4) is found.
 Missing files (2) and orphans (3) only warn — they're a normal
 intermediate state while assets land.
 
@@ -33,7 +28,6 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 DEFAULT_THEMES = ["age-of-dwarves"]
-SILENT_KEY = "_silent"
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -83,7 +77,7 @@ def validate_schema(manifest: dict, report: Report) -> None:
     # Each SFX entry shape
     allowed_entry_keys = {
         "stream", "streams", "volume_db", "bus", "pitch_jitter",
-        "fallback", "description",
+        "description",
     }
     for key, entry in sfx.items():
         if not isinstance(entry, dict):
@@ -97,6 +91,19 @@ def validate_schema(manifest: dict, report: Report) -> None:
                 f"sfx[{key!r}] declares both `stream` and `streams[]` — "
                 f"streams[] takes precedence at runtime; drop `stream`"
             )
+        if "streams" in entry:
+            raw = entry["streams"]
+            if isinstance(raw, list) and len(raw) == 0:
+                report.fail(
+                    f"sfx[{key!r}] declares empty `streams: []` — fail-loud "
+                    f"policy forbids silent sentinels; remove the entry or "
+                    f"ship at least one stream"
+                )
+        if "stream" not in entry and "streams" not in entry:
+            report.fail(
+                f"sfx[{key!r}] declares neither `stream` nor `streams[]` — "
+                f"every entry must point at at least one path"
+            )
         if "pitch_jitter" in entry:
             j = entry["pitch_jitter"]
             if not isinstance(j, (int, float)) or j < 0.0 or j > 0.5:
@@ -104,51 +111,6 @@ def validate_schema(manifest: dict, report: Report) -> None:
                     f"sfx[{key!r}].pitch_jitter must be a number in [0.0, 0.5]"
                 )
 
-    # Sentinel
-    if SILENT_KEY not in sfx:
-        report.fail(
-            f"sfx[{SILENT_KEY!r}] sentinel missing — fallback chains "
-            f"need a terminator"
-        )
-    else:
-        sentinel = sfx[SILENT_KEY]
-        if not (isinstance(sentinel.get("streams"), list)
-                and len(sentinel["streams"]) == 0):
-            report.fail(
-                f"sfx[{SILENT_KEY!r}] must declare `streams: []` (empty array)"
-            )
-
-    # Fallback chain references resolve
-    for key, entry in sfx.items():
-        if not isinstance(entry, dict):
-            continue
-        fb = entry.get("fallback")
-        if fb is None:
-            continue
-        if not isinstance(fb, str) or not fb:
-            report.fail(f"sfx[{key!r}].fallback must be a non-empty string")
-            continue
-        if fb not in sfx:
-            report.fail(
-                f"sfx[{key!r}].fallback={fb!r} is not a valid sound key"
-            )
-
-    # Cycle check on fallback graph
-    for key in sfx:
-        seen: set[str] = set()
-        cur = key
-        while cur in sfx:
-            if cur in seen:
-                report.fail(
-                    f"sfx[{key!r}] fallback chain cycles through {cur!r}"
-                )
-                break
-            seen.add(cur)
-            nxt = sfx[cur].get("fallback") if isinstance(sfx[cur], dict) else None
-            if not nxt:
-                break
-            cur = str(nxt)
-
     # Music tracks
     tracks = music.get("tracks", [])
     if not isinstance(tracks, list):
@@ -189,7 +151,9 @@ def collect_referenced_streams(manifest: dict) -> set[str]:
 
 
 def check_assets(theme: str, refs: set[str], report: Report) -> None:
-    assets_root = REPO / "public" / "games" / theme / "assets"
+    # Audio is shared across themes — lives in public/resources/audio/.
+    # `theme` is retained for the warning prefix only.
+    assets_root = REPO / "public" / "resources"
     missing: list[str] = []
     for rel in sorted(refs):
         if not rel: