diff --git a/src/layout_builder.rs b/src/layout_builder.rs
index 4218fd8..11d3d2b 100644
--- a/src/layout_builder.rs
+++ b/src/layout_builder.rs
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ use crate::schema::{
     AlkTypeKind, Endian, DISCRIMINATOR_PATH, U32_SIZE, MAX_ARRAY_BYTES,
 };
 use serde_json::Value;
-use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::collections::{BTreeMap, HashMap};
 
 const VARIANT_KEY: &str = "__variant";
 
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ pub struct FieldPosition {
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct PackedLayout {
     fields: Vec<(String, FieldPosition)>,
+    index: BTreeMap<String, usize>,
     total_size: usize,
 }
 
@@ -83,10 +84,8 @@ impl PackedLayout {
     /// TUnion byte-offset discriminators, the discriminator is recorded
     /// under the synthetic path `"<union_path>.__discriminator"`.
     pub fn get(&self, field_path: &str) -> Option<&FieldPosition> {
-        self.fields
-            .iter()
-            .find(|(path, _)| path == field_path)
-            .map(|(_, pos)| pos)
+        let idx = *self.index.get(field_path)?;
+        self.fields.get(idx).map(|(_, pos)| pos)
     }
 
     /// The total buffer size needed to hold all fields.
@@ -204,7 +203,9 @@ impl LayoutBuilder {
         };
         let mut offset: usize = 0;
         ctx.walk_struct(struct_node, "", &mut offset)?;
+        let index = Self::build_index(&ctx.fields);
         Ok(PackedLayout {
+            index,
             fields: ctx.fields,
             total_size: offset,
         })
@@ -214,6 +215,18 @@ impl LayoutBuilder {
     pub fn endian(&self) -> Endian {
         self.endian
     }
+
+    /// Build the path→index lookup table over the insertion-ordered
+    /// `fields` vec. First occurrence wins on duplicate paths (matching
+    /// the linear-scan `find` this index replaced — `BastStruct::parse`
+    /// does not reject duplicate field names, review #006 L4).
+    fn build_index(fields: &[(String, FieldPosition)]) -> BTreeMap<String, usize> {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        for (i, (path, _)) in fields.iter().enumerate() {
+            index.entry(path.clone()).or_insert(i);
+        }
+        index
+    }
 }
 
 /// Mutable context threaded through the recursive layout computation.
@@ -651,6 +664,61 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    // ----- L4: path-indexed random access --------------------------------
+
+    #[test]
+    fn l4_get_is_indexed_random_access_over_large_nested_schema() {
+        let mut fields = Vec::new();
+        for i in 0..40 {
+            fields.push(json!({
+                "name": format!("blk{i}"),
+                "kind": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "off",  "kind": "uint16" },
+                        { "name": "data", "kind": "uint64" }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }));
+        }
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": { "S": { "kind": "struct", "fields": fields } }
+        });
+        let layout = build(&root, "S", &var_sizes(&[]));
+        assert_eq!(layout.iter().count(), 80);
+        let last = layout.get("blk39.data").expect("late dotted-path lookup");
+        assert_eq!(last.offset, 39 * 10 + 2);
+        assert_eq!(last.size, 8);
+        assert_eq!(last.kind, AlkTypeKind::Uint64);
+        assert_eq!(
+            layout.get("blk12.off").map(|p| p.offset),
+            Some(12 * 10)
+        );
+        assert_eq!(layout.get("nope"), None);
+        assert_eq!(layout.get("blk39"), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn l4_duplicate_field_paths_first_occurrence_wins() {
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "a", "kind": "uint8" },
+                        { "name": "a", "kind": "uint16" }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let layout = build(&root, "S", &var_sizes(&[]));
+        let first = layout.get("a").expect("duplicate path resolves");
+        assert_eq!(first.offset, 0);
+        assert_eq!(first.size, 1);
+        assert_eq!(first.kind, AlkTypeKind::Uint8);
+        assert_eq!(layout.iter().count(), 2);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn fixed_fields_packed_no_alignment_padding() {
         let root = json!({
diff --git a/src/offset_map.rs b/src/offset_map.rs
index aa0d89b..c6eb855 100644
--- a/src/offset_map.rs
+++ b/src/offset_map.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ use crate::bast::{
 };
 use crate::error::AlkTypeError;
 use crate::schema::{AlkTypeKind, Endian, VariableEncoding, MAX_ARRAY_BYTES};
+use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 
 /// A byte range within a buffer.
 ///
@@ -104,6 +105,7 @@ impl OffsetEntry {
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
 pub struct OffsetMap {
     fields: Vec<(String, OffsetEntry)>,
+    index: BTreeMap<String, usize>,
     total_size: usize,
 }
 
@@ -144,8 +146,10 @@ impl OffsetMap {
         let struct_default_align = struct_node.align().unwrap_or(1).max(1);
         let endian = struct_node.endian();
         let (total, _align) = ctx.compute_struct(struct_node, "", struct_default_align, endian)?;
+        let index = Self::build_index(&ctx.fields);
         Ok(Self {
             fields: ctx.fields,
+            index,
             total_size: total,
         })
     }
@@ -157,10 +161,8 @@ impl OffsetMap {
     /// under the synthetic path `"__discriminator"` (qualified by the
     /// union field's path, e.g. `"payload.__discriminator"`).
     pub fn get(&self, field_path: &str) -> Option<&OffsetEntry> {
-        self.fields
-            .iter()
-            .find(|(path, _)| path == field_path)
-            .map(|(_, entry)| entry)
+        let idx = *self.index.get(field_path)?;
+        self.fields.get(idx).map(|(_, entry)| entry)
     }
 
     /// The total size of the struct in bytes (including trailing alignment padding).
@@ -188,6 +190,19 @@ impl OffsetMap {
         self.hash(&mut h);
         h.finish()
     }
+
+    /// Build the path→index lookup table over the insertion-ordered
+    /// `fields` vec. First occurrence wins on duplicate paths (matching
+    /// the linear-scan `find` this index replaced — `BastStruct::parse`
+    /// does not reject duplicate field names, so the semantic must be
+    /// preserved, review #006 L4).
+    fn build_index(fields: &[(String, OffsetEntry)]) -> BTreeMap<String, usize> {
+        let mut index = BTreeMap::new();
+        for (i, (path, _)) in fields.iter().enumerate() {
+            index.entry(path.clone()).or_insert(i);
+        }
+        index
+    }
 }
 
 /// Mutable context threaded through the recursive offset computation.
@@ -294,6 +309,29 @@ impl<'d> ComputeCtx<'d> {
             }),
             BastType::Array(a) => self.compute_array_field(a, field, field_path, struct_default_align, field_endian),
             BastType::Record(_) => {
+                if field.encoding() == VariableEncoding::OffsetIndirect {
+                    return Err(AlkTypeError::Offset {
+                        field_path: field_path.to_string(),
+                        reason: "record field with `encoding: offset-indirect` is not supported \
+                                 in aligned mode: the materializer walks the record's inline \
+                                 count-prefixed form from the entry start, so an offset-indirect \
+                                 record would read from the wrong wire shape. Use the default \
+                                 inline length-prefixing, or packed mode."
+                            .to_string(),
+                    });
+                }
+                if field.max_length().is_some() {
+                    return Err(AlkTypeError::Offset {
+                        field_path: field_path.to_string(),
+                        reason: "record field with `maxLength` is not supported in aligned mode: \
+                                 the materializer walks the record's inline count-prefixed form \
+                                 from the entry start and does not bound it by the reservation, \
+                                 so the record data would silently cross the maxLength boundary \
+                                 into subsequent fields (review #006 M5). Use the default inline \
+                                 length-prefixing (as the last field), or packed mode."
+                            .to_string(),
+                    });
+                }
                 self.compute_variable_field(field, field_path, struct_default_align, resolved.alk_kind(), field_endian)
             }
             BastType::Primitive(k) if k.is_variable_length() => {
@@ -417,7 +455,12 @@ impl<'d> ComputeCtx<'d> {
             reason: format!("element kind {elem_kind} has no fixed size"),
         })?;
         let elem_natural = elem_kind.natural_alignment();
-        let elem_align = element_alignment(&resolved_elem, struct_default_align, elem_natural);
+        // Composites (struct/union/array/record) never reach here — the
+        // OQ-001 rejection above refuses every non-fixed-size element
+        // kind — so the element alignment is the struct default vs the
+        // fixed kind's natural alignment (review #006 M4 item 4: the
+        // former composite arms of this lookup were dead).
+        let elem_align = struct_default_align.max(elem_natural).max(1);
         let stride = round_up(elem_size, elem_align);
         let count = array.count();
         let array_bytes = count
@@ -549,13 +592,14 @@ fn field_variable_kind(field: &BastField) -> Option<AlkTypeKind> {
 /// element TypeRef doesn't carry a field-level override (BAST field
 /// annotations live on the field, not the element), so the referring
 /// field's effective endian applies — the same propagation the aligned
-/// materializer uses.
+/// materializer uses. Only fixed-size element kinds reach here (the
+/// OQ-001 rejection upstream refuses composites), so the former
+/// `Struct`/`Union` composite arms were dead (review #006 M4 item 4).
 fn field_endian_for_element(elem_ty: &BastType, field_endian: Endian) -> Endian {
     match elem_ty {
-        BastType::Struct(s) => s.endian(),
-        BastType::Union(u) => u.endian(),
         BastType::Enum(_) | BastType::Array(_) | BastType::Record(_) => field_endian,
         BastType::Primitive(_) | BastType::Ref(_) => field_endian,
+        BastType::Struct(_) | BastType::Union(_) => field_endian,
     }
 }
 
@@ -568,24 +612,6 @@ fn field_alignment(field: &BastField, struct_default_align: usize, natural: usiz
     struct_default_align.max(natural).max(1)
 }
 
-/// Resolve an element type's alignment. Inline struct/array elements use
-/// natural alignment 1; primitives use their natural alignment; field-level
-/// `align` from the enclosing field node doesn't apply to inline element
-/// schemas (BAST field-level annotations live on the field, not the
-/// element TypeRef), so we fall back to the struct default.
-fn element_alignment(
-    elem_ty: &BastType,
-    struct_default_align: usize,
-    natural: usize,
-) -> usize {
-    match elem_ty {
-        BastType::Struct(_) | BastType::Union(_) | BastType::Array(_) => {
-            struct_default_align.max(1)
-        }
-        _ => struct_default_align.max(natural).max(1),
-    }
-}
-
 /// Round `offset` up to the next multiple of `align`. No-op if `align <= 1`.
 fn align_up(offset: &mut usize, align: usize) {
     if align <= 1 {
@@ -997,6 +1023,73 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(m.get("b.x").map(|e| e.range), Some(ByteRange { start: 2, end: 4 }));
     }
 
+    // ----- M4 item 4: array-element endian propagation + OQ-001 gate ----
+
+    #[test]
+    fn m4_array_of_struct_element_rejected_oq001() {
+        // The gate that makes field_endian_for_element's composite arms
+        // dead: a struct element kind is variable-length, so it hits the
+        // OQ-001 rejection before the endian lookup.
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": { "kind": "struct", "fields": [
+                    { "name": "points", "kind": { "kind": "array", "element": { "$ref": "#/$defs/Point" }, "count": 2 } }
+                ] },
+                "Point": { "kind": "struct", "fields": [ { "name": "x", "kind": "uint16" } ] }
+            }
+        });
+        let doc = BastDoc::new(&root, "S").expect("doc");
+        let err = OffsetMap::compute(&doc).unwrap_err();
+        match err {
+            AlkTypeError::Offset { field_path, reason } => {
+                assert_eq!(field_path, "points");
+                assert!(reason.contains("OQ-001"), "reason: {reason}");
+            }
+            other => panic!("expected Offset, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn m4_array_element_endian_inherits_referring_field_not_element_own() {
+        // Phase-5 parity rule on the aligned path: the element's effective
+        // endian is the referring field's, not the element struct's own
+        // annotation (the pre-M4-cleanup code consulted the element
+        // struct's `endian` in a dead arm — dead because composites are
+        // rejected by OQ-001 upstream; this test pins the reachable
+        // propagation for fixed elements).
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "endian": "big",
+                    "fields": [
+                        {
+                            "name": "vals",
+                            "kind": { "kind": "array", "element": "uint32", "count": 2 },
+                            "endian": "little"
+                        }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let m = map(&root, "S");
+        let e0 = m.get("vals[0]").expect("vals[0]");
+        assert_eq!(e0.meta.endian, Endian::Little, "field-level endian override propagates to elements");
+        let root_be = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "endian": "big",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "vals", "kind": { "kind": "array", "element": "uint32", "count": 2 } }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let m_be = map(&root_be, "S");
+        assert_eq!(m_be.get("vals[0]").expect("vals[0]").meta.endian, Endian::Big, "struct default propagates to elements");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn non_final_record_rejected_in_aligned_mode() {
         // M1: a Record field's inline length-prefixed form has the same
@@ -1045,6 +1138,87 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(m.total_size(), 8);
     }
 
+    // ----- M5: record maxLength / offset-indirect rejected in aligned mode
+
+    #[test]
+    fn m5_record_max_length_rejected_in_aligned_mode() {
+        // Probe-verified silent corruption: the materializer walks the
+        // record's inline count-prefixed form from the entry start and
+        // never bounds it by the maxLength reservation, so the record
+        // data crosses the reservation into the next field's bytes and
+        // validate_bytes accepts the corrupt buffer. Reject at compute.
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "counts", "kind": { "kind": "record", "values": "uint16" }, "maxLength": 8 },
+                        { "name": "id",     "kind": "uint32" }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let doc = BastDoc::new(&root, "S").expect("doc parses");
+        let err = OffsetMap::compute(&doc).unwrap_err();
+        match err {
+            AlkTypeError::Offset { field_path, reason } => {
+                assert_eq!(field_path, "counts");
+                assert!(reason.contains("maxLength"), "reason: {reason}");
+                assert!(reason.contains("record"), "reason: {reason}");
+            }
+            other => panic!("expected Offset, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn m5_record_offset_indirect_rejected_in_aligned_mode() {
+        // Same walk-shape mismatch: the materializer reads the inline
+        // count-prefixed form, not the {offset, length} pair the map
+        // would have recorded.
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "counts", "kind": { "kind": "record", "values": "uint16" }, "encoding": "offset-indirect" },
+                        { "name": "id",     "kind": "uint32" }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let doc = BastDoc::new(&root, "S").expect("doc parses");
+        let err = OffsetMap::compute(&doc).unwrap_err();
+        match err {
+            AlkTypeError::Offset { field_path, reason } => {
+                assert_eq!(field_path, "counts");
+                assert!(reason.contains("offset-indirect"), "reason: {reason}");
+                assert!(reason.contains("record"), "reason: {reason}");
+            }
+            other => panic!("expected Offset, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn m5_record_max_length_rejected_even_as_last_field() {
+        // Position doesn't rescue it: the reservation would fix
+        // total_size, but the walk still reads the inline form — a
+        // different wire shape than any writer produces.
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "id",     "kind": "uint32" },
+                        { "name": "counts", "kind": { "kind": "record", "values": "uint16" }, "maxLength": 64 }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let doc = BastDoc::new(&root, "S").expect("doc parses");
+        let err = OffsetMap::compute(&doc).unwrap_err();
+        assert!(matches!(err, AlkTypeError::Offset { .. }), "got {err:?}");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn non_final_inline_string_rejected_in_aligned_mode() {
         let root = json!({
@@ -1201,6 +1375,69 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(paths, vec!["a", "b"]);
     }
 
+    // ----- L4: path-indexed random access --------------------------------
+
+    #[test]
+    fn l4_get_is_indexed_random_access_over_large_nested_schema() {
+        // The map's doc contract promises random access by field path
+        // ("read field N without reading fields 0..N-1 first"); L4 made
+        // that true with a BTreeMap index instead of a linear scan. A
+        // wide nested schema exercises dotted-path lookups that arrive
+        // late in insertion order.
+        let mut fields = Vec::new();
+        for i in 0..40 {
+            fields.push(json!({
+                "name": format!("blk{i}"),
+                "kind": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "id",  "kind": "uint32" },
+                        { "name": "tag", "kind": "uint8" },
+                        { "name": "val", "kind": "uint64" }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }));
+        }
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": { "S": { "kind": "struct", "fields": fields } }
+        });
+        let m = map(&root, "S");
+        assert_eq!(m.iter().count(), 120);
+        let last = m.get("blk39.val").expect("late dotted-path lookup");
+        assert_eq!(last.range, ByteRange { start: 39 * 16 + 8, end: 39 * 16 + 16 });
+        assert_eq!(last.meta.kind, AlkTypeKind::Uint64);
+        let mid = m.get("blk20.tag").expect("mid lookup");
+        assert_eq!(mid.range, ByteRange { start: 20 * 16 + 4, end: 20 * 16 + 5 });
+        assert_eq!(m.get("blk7.id").map(|e| e.range), Some(ByteRange { start: 7 * 16, end: 7 * 16 + 4 }));
+        assert_eq!(m.get("nope"), None);
+        assert_eq!(m.get("blk"), None);
+        assert_eq!(m.get("blk20"), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn l4_duplicate_field_paths_first_occurrence_wins() {
+        // BastStruct::parse does not reject duplicate field names, so two
+        // same-named siblings produce two entries with the same path. The
+        // pre-L4 linear scan returned the first; the index preserves that
+        // semantic.
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "S": {
+                    "kind": "struct",
+                    "fields": [
+                        { "name": "a", "kind": "uint8" },
+                        { "name": "a", "kind": "uint16" }
+                    ]
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let m = map(&root, "S");
+        let first = m.get("a").expect("duplicate path resolves");
+        assert_eq!(first.range, ByteRange { start: 0, end: 1 });
+        assert_eq!(first.meta.kind, AlkTypeKind::Uint8);
+        assert_eq!(m.iter().count(), 2);
+    }
+
     // ----- Fingerprint contract (ADR-012 §1/§4) ---------------------------
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/src/tunion.rs b/src/tunion.rs
index 2bd7a91..0d1a077 100644
--- a/src/tunion.rs
+++ b/src/tunion.rs
@@ -106,7 +106,10 @@ pub fn read_byte_discriminator(
 /// - [`AlkTypeError::Schema`] if the union does not have a field-name
 ///   discriminator, the discriminator field is not declared in
 ///   `fields`, or the field's kind is not one of `string` / `uint8` /
-///   `enum`.
+///   `uint16` / `uint32` / `enum` (the same kind set the compiled
+///   reader's `plan_discriminator_string_value` accepts — review #006
+///   N1 closed the divergence so both public dispatch paths answer
+///   identically).
 /// - [`AlkTypeError::Access`] if the buffer is too short to contain the
 ///   discriminator field, or if the read value is not present in the
 ///   union's `mapping`.
@@ -152,6 +155,14 @@ pub fn read_field_discriminator(
             let v = read_u8(buffer, disc_field_offset, name)?;
             (v.to_string(), 1)
         }
+        AlkTypeKind::Uint16 => {
+            let v = read_u16(buffer, disc_field_offset, name, endian)?;
+            (v.to_string(), 2)
+        }
+        AlkTypeKind::Uint32 => {
+            let v = read_u32(buffer, disc_field_offset, name, endian)?;
+            (v.to_string(), U32_SIZE)
+        }
         AlkTypeKind::Enum => {
             let v = read_enum(buffer, disc_field_offset, name, endian)?;
             (v.to_string(), U32_SIZE)
@@ -421,6 +432,78 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(d.discriminator_size, 1);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn n1_read_field_discriminator_uint16_little_endian() {
+        // N1: tunion now accepts the same field-disc kinds as the plan
+        // reader (string/uint8/uint16/uint32/enum) — uint16/uint32 were
+        // previously rejected with a Schema error, diverging from
+        // `plan_discriminator_string_value`.
+        let root = field_union_root("type", "uint16");
+        let u = doc_union(&root, "U");
+        let mut buf = vec![0u8; 8];
+        buf[0..2].copy_from_slice(&1u16.to_le_bytes());
+        let d = read_field_discriminator(&buf, &u, 0, LE).expect("read");
+        assert_eq!(d.key, "1");
+        assert_eq!(d.variant_offset, 2);
+        assert_eq!(d.discriminator_size, 2);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn n1_read_field_discriminator_uint16_big_endian() {
+        let root = field_union_root("type", "uint16");
+        let u = doc_union(&root, "U");
+        let mut buf = vec![0u8; 8];
+        buf[0..2].copy_from_slice(&1u16.to_be_bytes());
+        let d = read_field_discriminator(&buf, &u, 0, BE).expect("read");
+        assert_eq!(d.key, "1");
+        assert_eq!(d.discriminator_size, 2);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn n1_read_field_discriminator_uint32_little_endian() {
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "U": {
+                    "kind": "union",
+                    "discriminator": { "kind": "field", "name": "type" },
+                    "fields": [ { "name": "type", "kind": "uint32" } ],
+                    "mapping": {
+                        "1024": { "kind": "struct", "fields": [ { "name": "n", "kind": "uint32" } ] }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let u = doc_union(&root, "U");
+        let mut buf = vec![0u8; 8];
+        buf[0..4].copy_from_slice(&1024u32.to_le_bytes());
+        let d = read_field_discriminator(&buf, &u, 0, LE).expect("read");
+        assert_eq!(d.key, "1024");
+        assert_eq!(d.variant_offset, 4);
+        assert_eq!(d.discriminator_size, 4);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn n1_read_field_discriminator_uint32_big_endian() {
+        let root = json!({
+            "$defs": {
+                "U": {
+                    "kind": "union",
+                    "discriminator": { "kind": "field", "name": "type" },
+                    "fields": [ { "name": "type", "kind": "uint32" } ],
+                    "mapping": {
+                        "1024": { "kind": "struct", "fields": [ { "name": "n", "kind": "uint32" } ] }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+        let u = doc_union(&root, "U");
+        let mut buf = vec![0u8; 8];
+        buf[0..4].copy_from_slice(&1024u32.to_be_bytes());
+        let d = read_field_discriminator(&buf, &u, 0, BE).expect("read");
+        assert_eq!(d.key, "1024");
+        assert_eq!(d.discriminator_size, 4);
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn read_field_discriminator_string_big_endian() {
         let root = field_union_root("type", "string");