Rewrite NPC plans around the Quaternius base

PLAN.md

@@ -18,11 +18,13 @@ The game is about **judgment, communication, access verification, and proportion
 
 The active planning order is set in [`TODO.md`](TODO.md) and in `AGENTS.md`:
 
-1. **Character development (unversioned).** Expand the owned procedural character library with
-   crowd, age, build, hair and outfit variety. Keep the frozen bone/tint/gear contract; see
-   [ADR-0015](docs/adr/0015-npc-model-variety-sourcing.md) and
-   [`docs/npc-model-sourcing.md`](docs/npc-model-sourcing.md). Quaternius is a reference;
-   MakeHuman is deferred to a separate local pipeline.
+1. **Quaternius NPC base (unversioned).** Use the CC0 **Quaternius Ultimate Modular
+   Characters** as the primary NPC mesh and animation source. Bake a canonical Quaternius base
+   onto the runtime `npc_base` contract (13 core bones, five tint slots, 24,000/24,000) so the
+   existing gear, `NpcAvatar` and gameplay poses keep working. If the proportion warp fails the
+   silhouette gate, stop and decide on the 62-joint source rig in a new ADR. See
+   [ADR-0017](docs/adr/0017-quaternius-npc-base.md) and
+   [`docs/npc-model-sourcing.md`](docs/npc-model-sourcing.md). MakeHuman/MPFB body work is closed.
 2. **Local map development (unversioned).** Move beyond stylized venue reconstruction with
    licensed OpenStreetMap and 3D building data, downloaded reference imagery for photoreal
    facades, AI-assisted composition, and a Gaussian-splatting evaluation that stays in the
@@ -169,7 +171,7 @@ The action wheel prioritizes de-escalation: Stop, Look, Point, No, Ask, Inspect,
 
 The visual direction is readable stylized realism:
 
-- **Character direction:** 8 skinned NPC variants, 18 gear pieces and 20 street/venue props, with four crowd-variety variants prototyped. The generator-first expansion is the active character track ([ADR-0015](docs/adr/0015-npc-model-variety-sourcing.md)); Quaternius is a reference and MakeHuman is deferred to a local pipeline.
+- **Character direction:** 12 skinned NPC variants, 18 gear pieces and 20 street/venue props. The active character track is the Quaternius base migration ([ADR-0017](docs/adr/0017-quaternius-npc-base.md)): use the CC0 Quaternius mesh/animation source, bake it to the runtime contract, and retire the bespoke procedural body work.
 - **Realism pass:** AI-assisted per-phase skyline panoramas, v2 surface tiles with normal maps, wet asphalt at night, a warm day haze, phase-specific sun/exposure/fog, a tight flashlight spot (no beam geometry), and denser foliage.
 - **Local map direction:** the venues are currently stylized reconstructions. The local-map track evaluates licensed OpenStreetMap/3D building data, licensed reference photography, AI-assisted composition and Gaussian splatting as a development tool; online data and splat rendering are not runtime dependencies.
 - **References and QA:** runtime UI art lives in `assets/images/ui/`; reference/art-direction sets live in `docs/screens/designs/` and `docs/screens/concepts/`; captures live in `docs/screenshots/`; realism runs live in `docs/screens/realism/`. `screen_designs.py compare/judge` and `tools/check_screenshots.sh` guard drift.
@@ -177,7 +179,7 @@ The visual direction is readable stylized realism:
 
 The active planning order — unversioned character and local-map development first, then the versioned 0.10.0 release-candidate hardening and later releases — is tracked in [`TODO.md`](TODO.md); this plan stays at the product/design level.
 
-Primary decisions: [ADR-0007](docs/adr/0007-locomotion-and-input-layers.md), [ADR-0008](docs/adr/0008-cone-focus-and-head-ring.md), [ADR-0009](docs/adr/0009-radial-action-menu.md), [ADR-0010](docs/adr/0010-procedural-npc-presentation.md), [ADR-0011](docs/adr/0011-aim-free-selection-and-precision-walk.md), [ADR-0012](docs/adr/0012-surface-materials-and-generated-props.md), [ADR-0013](docs/adr/0013-blender-authored-npc-characters.md), [ADR-0015](docs/adr/0015-npc-model-variety-sourcing.md).
+Primary decisions: [ADR-0007](docs/adr/0007-locomotion-and-input-layers.md), [ADR-0008](docs/adr/0008-cone-focus-and-head-ring.md), [ADR-0009](docs/adr/0009-radial-action-menu.md), [ADR-0010](docs/adr/0010-procedural-npc-presentation.md), [ADR-0011](docs/adr/0011-aim-free-selection-and-precision-walk.md), [ADR-0012](docs/adr/0012-surface-materials-and-generated-props.md), [ADR-0013](docs/adr/0013-blender-authored-npc-characters.md), [ADR-0015](docs/adr/0015-npc-model-variety-sourcing.md), [ADR-0017](docs/adr/0017-quaternius-npc-base.md).
 
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