Hi everyone,
We have updated our Terms of Service (ToS) with two small changes relating to how you use the services.
By continuing usage of The Forge service, you automatically agree to these new terms. You can read the updated version in full here.
What changed?
We added two clauses about server idling and account sharing. For most users, this will come as no surprise, as it is simple logic and puts it in line with the Foundry licensing, but we felt the need to make that clearly stated in the ToS.
The changes boil down to :
- Server idling - if you don’t play the game, do not use tools or in any means to simulate game activity and prevent regular server idling.
- Account sharing - you are not allowed to share your account with anyone, both in terms of sharing your account credentials as well as sharing a subscription for games from independent groups.
Foundry VTT’s licensing terms allows you to share your license with family or close friends within the same gaming group. The changes in our ToS make us now in sync with that licensing clause, with the addition of the prohibition of sharing account credentials (both for legal and security reasons).
FAQ: So, who could I share my account with exactly ?
You can never share your account credentials with anyone. Even The Forge team will never ask you for your password and you should never give it to anyone. This is due to both security concerns as well as legal reasons. Your password is like your credit card PIN number, if you wouldn’t share that with someone, then don’t give them your password either.
You could however share access to games within your account with a sibling or your children for example. In the case of friends, if they are part of the same gaming group as you and they want to DM a game in which you are a player, then that’s perfectly acceptable for you to host the game as part of the Foundry VTT licensing terms and The Forge Terms of Service. This wouldn’t count as account sharing, but rather, you are hosting a game in which you are not the GM.
There are also campaigns of the West Marches style in which different GMs alternate with different players within the same world. That would still count as a single (albeit large) gaming group and is therefore allowed.
The use case that is not acceptable is if two people playing in independent gaming groups decide to share the cost of a subscription because their groups play on different days of the week. That is both unethical and hurtful to The Forge service.
The Forge has created efficient software to keep costs as low as possible for the users of the service and part of that is the efficient handling of server resources which would be impeded by people sharing their accounts with other independent DMs or by preventing the regular idling of inactive games.
For any question or comment please contact us at [email protected].
Thank you!
The Forge Team