diff --git a/docs/internal/modules.md b/docs/internal/modules.md
index c6a2688..24f4d27 100644
--- a/docs/internal/modules.md
+++ b/docs/internal/modules.md
@@ -88,7 +88,8 @@ last, exact source-unit IDs, sequential contiguous scenes, and no overlap. It
 assigns chunk IDs such as `scene-000001` and stores scene metadata including
 title, primary mode, participants, summary, boundary note, confidence, boundary
 unit IDs, and unit count. Boundary caveats become warnings with reason code
-`scene_boundary_caveat`.
+`scene_boundary_caveat`. Whitespace-only caveats are treated as malformed
+structured output rather than silently dropped.
 
 Malformed model output fails explicitly rather than falling back to another
 chunker. The chunker exposes prompt and response-schema provenance through
diff --git a/docs/troubleshooting.md b/docs/troubleshooting.md
index bea0560..68b0015 100644
--- a/docs/troubleshooting.md
+++ b/docs/troubleshooting.md
@@ -183,6 +183,7 @@ Symptoms include:
 
 - `dnd scenes chunker`
 - `malformed structured output`
+- `boundary_caveats`
 - `start_unit_id`
 - `end_unit_id`
 - `gap`
@@ -199,6 +200,8 @@ Fix:
 - Inspect retained diagnostics for the run error and resolved pipeline.
 - If the error names malformed structured output, retry with a model that
   follows structured response schemas reliably.
+- If the error names `boundary_caveats`, check for blank or whitespace-only
+  caveat text in the scene response.
 - Scene boundaries must use exact source-unit IDs, cover the full source
   document, be contiguous, and not overlap.
 
diff --git a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/assets/schemas/dnd_scenes.v1.json b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/assets/schemas/dnd_scenes.v1.json
index 91fe9cc..7fdafd8 100644
--- a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/assets/schemas/dnd_scenes.v1.json
+++ b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/assets/schemas/dnd_scenes.v1.json
@@ -76,7 +76,8 @@
     "boundary_caveats": {
       "type": "array",
       "items": {
-        "type": "string"
+        "type": "string",
+        "minLength": 1
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker.go b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker.go
index dd62b10..71fe5e2 100644
--- a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker.go
+++ b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker.go
@@ -99,13 +99,17 @@ func (c *Chunker) Chunk(ctx context.Context, req contracts.ChunkRequest) (contra
 		return contracts.ChunkResult{}, chunkerErrorf("complete structured output: %w", err)
 	}
 
+	warnings, err := warningsFromCaveats(response.BoundaryCaveats)
+	if err != nil {
+		return contracts.ChunkResult{}, chunkerErrorf("malformed structured output: %w", err)
+	}
 	chunks, err := chunksFromResponse(req.Source, response)
 	if err != nil {
 		return contracts.ChunkResult{}, chunkerErrorf("malformed structured output: %w", err)
 	}
 	return contracts.ChunkResult{
 		Chunks:   chunks,
-		Warnings: warningsFromCaveats(response.BoundaryCaveats),
+		Warnings: warnings,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -259,19 +263,23 @@ func validBoundaryConfidence(value string) bool {
 	}
 }
 
-func warningsFromCaveats(caveats []string) []contracts.Warning {
+func warningsFromCaveats(caveats []string) ([]contracts.Warning, error) {
 	if len(caveats) == 0 {
-		return nil
+		return nil, nil
 	}
 	warnings := make([]contracts.Warning, 0, len(caveats))
-	for _, caveat := range caveats {
+	for i, caveat := range caveats {
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(caveat)
+		if trimmed == "" {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("boundary_caveats[%d] must not be empty after trimming", i)
+		}
 		warnings = append(warnings, contracts.Warning{
 			Scope:      Key,
 			ReasonCode: "scene_boundary_caveat",
-			Message:    caveat,
+			Message:    trimmed,
 		})
 	}
-	return warnings
+	return warnings, nil
 }
 
 func cloneUnits(units []source.SourceUnit) []source.SourceUnit {
diff --git a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker_test.go b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker_test.go
index b3b2cc9..371c0a8 100644
--- a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker_test.go
+++ b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/chunker_test.go
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ func TestChunkReturnsSceneChunksFromStructuredOutput(t *testing.T) {
 					BoundaryConfidence: "Medium",
 				},
 			},
-			BoundaryCaveats: []string{"The transition into combat is gradual."},
+			BoundaryCaveats: []string{" The transition into combat is gradual. "},
 		},
 	}
 
@@ -162,6 +162,25 @@ func TestChunkReturnsSceneChunksFromStructuredOutput(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestChunkRejectsWhitespaceOnlyBoundaryCaveats(t *testing.T) {
+	client := &fakeScenesLLMClient{
+		response: chunkResponse{
+			Scenes: validSceneResponse().Scenes,
+			BoundaryCaveats: []string{
+				"   ",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	_, err := New().Chunk(context.Background(), chunkRequestWithClient(client))
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("Chunk() error = nil, want malformed structured output error")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "dnd scenes chunker") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "malformed structured output") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "boundary_caveats[0]") {
+		t.Fatalf("Chunk() error = %q, want malformed boundary caveat context", err.Error())
+	}
+}
+
 func TestChunkDefensivelyCopiesSourceUnitsAndMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	doc := sceneSourceDocument()
 	client := &fakeScenesLLMClient{response: validSceneResponse()}
diff --git a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/schema_test.go b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/schema_test.go
index deb7dc1..7e1a4cd 100644
--- a/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/schema_test.go
+++ b/internal/modules/chunk/dnd/scenes/schema_test.go
@@ -77,6 +77,14 @@ func TestResponseSchemaShapeUsesSourceUnitBoundaries(t *testing.T) {
 	if !sameStrings(confidenceEnum, []string{"High", "Medium", "Low"}) {
 		t.Fatalf("boundary_confidence enum = %#v, want High/Medium/Low", confidenceEnum)
 	}
+
+	boundaryCaveatItems := decoded["properties"].(map[string]any)["boundary_caveats"].(map[string]any)["items"].(map[string]any)
+	if boundaryCaveatItems["type"] != "string" {
+		t.Fatalf("boundary_caveats.items.type = %#v, want string", boundaryCaveatItems["type"])
+	}
+	if boundaryCaveatItems["minLength"] != float64(1) {
+		t.Fatalf("boundary_caveats.items.minLength = %#v, want 1", boundaryCaveatItems["minLength"])
+	}
 }
 
 func TestResponseStructRejectsIntegerBoundaries(t *testing.T) {