Standard Custom Development Services use a 50% payment before development and 50% after review and acceptance but before final production handoff. Qualifying Custom Bot Launch Offer projects are paid in full upfront. Refunds depend on work performed, approved project costs, the applicable agreement, and applicable law.
Application and document priority
This policy covers payment, billing, cancellation, and refund mechanics for Dark Forge Automation Services, including commissioned bots, Foundry customizations, dashboards, websites, portals, integrations, automation, related custom software, hosting, and subscriptions where applicable. Ordinary use of Foundry or StormVault is not Custom Development merely because Dark Forge develops the product.
A Customer-specific Order, statement of work, Project Agreement, or accepted contractual quote may clearly change a term for that project. The specific change controls only that subject; unrelated Terms and policies continue to apply. Nothing in this policy limits rights that cannot lawfully be limited.
Written scope and affirmative acceptance
Before Custom Development begins, the Customer receives a written project document identifying the approved scope, deliverables, price, payment schedule, included revisions, material dependencies, applicable support, and incorporated Dark Forge Terms or policies. The Customer must affirmatively accept it through an electronic signature, explicit written acceptance, an approved acceptance flow, or another documented method that is legally appropriate.
Payment alone does not universally accept unknown terms. Payment may serve as acceptance only when the specific Order clearly discloses that effect before payment, identifies incorporated policies, provides a reasonable opportunity to review them, and may lawfully use that acceptance method. Casual discussions and general inquiries are not automatically the complete final project agreement.
Material scope changes affecting price, deliverables, timeline, or major functionality are documented and approved before changed paid work proceeds. Minor clarifications do not require a replacement agreement.
Standard Custom Development payment
Unless a controlling Customer-specific agreement clearly states another schedule, 50% of the approved project price is due before development begins. The Customer then receives the ordinary review and acceptance opportunity described below. After acceptance, the remaining 50% becomes due and must be received before final production launch, deployment, handoff, or completed-deliverable transfer, as appropriate.
Dark Forge is not required to begin before the first payment or complete the final production step before receiving the balance. Payment status does not permit Dark Forge to withhold Customer-owned logos, artwork, branding, content, data, or other Customer Materials as leverage.
Custom Bot Launch Offer
The Custom Bot Launch Offer applies only to qualifying custom bot development projects. It does not apply to Foundry, StormVault, websites, portals, dashboards, commissioned Foundry work, or recurring subscriptions.
- Qualifying projects 1–10: $50 total.
- Qualifying projects 11–20: $75 total.
- Qualifying projects 21–30: $100 total.
The offer is for new Customers only and is limited to one qualifying Launch Offer project per Customer. A Customer may not intentionally split one larger project across identities or Orders solely to obtain multiple offer prices. Dark Forge confirms qualification and project order during scope review based on availability, approved scope, technical feasibility, project order, and compliance with the offer, subject to applicable law.
After qualification and scope approval, the full offer price is due before development. Each qualifying project includes one custom-built Discord bot with four core bot systems, two reasonable revision rounds, seven calendar days for review and testing, and 14 days of launch support. Optional hosting, maintenance, premium features, and add-ons are separate.
Revisions, defects, and scope changes
Each standard Custom Development project and qualifying Launch Offer project includes two reasonable revision rounds unless a controlling written agreement clearly states otherwise. Included revisions are related adjustments within the approved scope. New features, integrations, major redesigns, substantial architecture changes, or materially different functionality are generally scope changes and may require a new quote.
A qualifying implementation defect exists when delivered functionality fails to materially perform as agreed. Correcting it does not consume a revision round and is not automatically a paid feature. Unused revision rounds have no cash, refund-credit, transferable-hours, or indefinite future-feature value.
Seven-day review and final payment
After Dark Forge notifies the Customer that the project is ready, the Customer has seven calendar days to reasonably test it and report clear defects, material nonconformity, and requested included revisions. The Customer may expressly accept earlier and is not expected to discover latent defects that ordinary testing would not reveal.
Where legally permitted, no response may close the ordinary review stage after seven days. Silence does not waive nonwaivable rights, latent defects, documented unresolved defects, or every later claim. For standard 50%/50% work, the final 50% becomes due after acceptance and before production handoff. A Launch Offer project has no second payment.
Launch support
When a project includes 14 days of launch support, the period begins when the completed project first enters intended production use or is formally handed over for production use, whichever occurs first. It does not begin merely when review testing starts. Provider-caused pre-launch delay does not consume support time.
Included support covers reasonable defect correction, deployment assistance, configuration help, and questions about delivered functionality. It does not include unlimited revisions or development, new features, major redesigns, new integrations, 24/7 support, a guaranteed response time, or a service-level agreement.
Customer inactivity
Inactivity applies while Dark Forge is waiting for Customer action required to continue. After required action remains outstanding for 14 consecutive calendar days, Dark Forge may pause the project. After 30 consecutive calendar days, and after a reasonable contact attempt, Dark Forge may archive it as inactive.
A pause or archival is not automatic termination, deletion, refund forfeiture, or a restart fee. Resumption depends on scheduling, technical feasibility, current dependencies, and any material additional work caused by delay. Additional work may require a disclosed new quote approved before it proceeds.
Cancellation before development
If the Customer cancels before development begins, development payments are generally refundable. Dark Forge may deduct only approved or properly disclosed project-specific costs that were actually incurred, are non-refundable or unrecoverable to Dark Forge, and may lawfully be deducted. No generic cancellation or percentage-based administrative fee applies.
Cancellation after development begins
After work begins, payments are non-refundable only to the extent earned through work actually performed or applied to approved project-specific non-refundable costs. The entire initial payment or Launch Offer payment is not automatically forfeited merely because work started. A refund must reasonably distinguish earned and unearned amounts, subject to applicable law.
Cancellation before the standard final 50% becomes due does not automatically make that balance due. After accepted, fully paid, and completed delivery or handoff, development payments are generally non-refundable except for nonwaivable rights, material nonconformity, qualifying defect obligations, or another remedy required by the agreement or law.
Provider cancellation and Customer-caused inability
If Dark Forge cannot complete a project for reasons not caused by the Customer, Dark Forge stops charging for unperformed work and refunds the unearned portion. If completion is prevented by missing Customer access or materials, prohibited requirements, lack of authority, material breach, or another Customer-caused circumstance, treatment depends on work performed, approved project costs, the controlling agreement, applicable law, and the circumstances. Neither full refund nor total forfeiture is automatic.
A legitimate defect report is not cancellation. Where appropriate, Dark Forge has a reasonable opportunity to correct a qualifying defect before a refund remedy is considered, subject to applicable law.
Third-party project costs
Dark Forge bears ordinary internal tools, routine infrastructure, its ordinary development environment, and general overhead unless an Order clearly states otherwise. Customers may be responsible for project-specific hosting, domains, paid APIs, databases, storage, licenses, integrations, or other external services.
Material Customer-responsible costs are disclosed before being incurred where reasonably possible and require approval. Where practical, the Customer should own and directly pay for Customer-specific third-party accounts. Recurring dependencies should be disclosed before adoption. Only properly approved or disclosed, actually incurred, project-specific, unrecoverable costs may be considered as refund deductions where legally permitted.
Foundry subscriptions through Discord
Foundry currently lists Free at $0 per month, Silver at $4.99 per Discord server per month, and Gold at $9.99 per Discord server per month. Paid subscriptions are purchased and managed through Discord's official store listings. Discord may handle checkout, renewal, cancellation, taxes, localized pricing, receipts, payment methods, and refunds under Discord's terms and applicable law.
Canceling generally prevents future renewal while access continues through the paid period shown by Discord, unless Discord states otherwise. View current Foundry tiers and purchase links.
StormVault plans, cancellation, and downgrade
StormVault currently lists Free at $0, Silver at $9.99 per month for one subscribed Discord guild, Gold at $19.99 per month for one subscribed Discord guild, and Gold Plus at $24.99 per month with explicit coverage for up to three registered servers in one StormVault organization. StormVault does not currently offer annual subscriptions.
Paid StormVault subscriptions are purchased and managed through Discord's official store listings. Discord may handle checkout, monthly renewal, cancellation, taxes, localized pricing, receipts, payment methods, and refunds under Discord's terms and applicable law. Canceling generally prevents future renewal while access continues through the paid entitlement period shown by Discord, unless Discord states otherwise.
An ordinary downgrade may restrict premium capabilities without automatically deleting legitimate historical cases, evidence, audit records, security history, or safe configuration. Where the entitlement system applies downgrade grace, StormVault provides a seven-calendar-day grace period. Grace does not promise unrestricted premium access. A paid plan may fall back to Free where current product policy permits.
Voluntary cancellation follows the applicable cancellation, downgrade, controlling agreement, payment-provider, and legal rules. This policy does not invent an automatic refund for voluntary cancellation or an already-provided paid period.
Provider-caused StormVault discontinuation
If Dark Forge permanently discontinues a paid StormVault Service or otherwise ends a prepaid paid Service before the prepaid period expires for reasons not caused by Customer misconduct, Dark Forge provides an appropriate prorated refund or Service credit corresponding reasonably to the unused prepaid portion, subject to applicable law, payment-provider capabilities, the controlling agreement, and legally permitted limitations.
The remedy is not always promised as cash instead of credit unless law requires it. It does not automatically apply to voluntary cancellation, ordinary downgrade, future price changes, or misconduct termination. Neither a remedy nor forfeiture is automatic after serious prohibited use, abuse, fraud, unauthorized access, malicious use, or material breach. Duplicate recovery for the same unused period is not permitted.
If Dark Forge ceases operations and cannot provide already-prepaid paid Service, the same unused-value principle applies where legally and practically possible without guaranteeing recovery beyond Dark Forge's lawful and practical ability during insolvency, dissolution, or wind-down.
Future subscription price changes
Subscription prices may change prospectively. Dark Forge intends to provide reasonable advance notice of a material increase before it applies at a future renewal. A price increase does not change an already-paid period or authorize a prorated mid-period increase. Required notice, consent, cancellation, refund, or credit rights under applicable law or a controlling agreement remain applicable.
Permanent grandfathering is not promised, although Dark Forge may expressly offer promotional, discounted, legacy, or grandfathered pricing. A Customer may cancel, downgrade where available, or allow the subscription to end before a properly noticed new renewal price applies.
Invoices and payment safety
- Use only an approved payment method shown on an official invoice or verified business channel.
- Invoices are due within seven calendar days unless another deadline is stated.
- Customers should review invoice and Order details before paying.
- Required taxes and permitted disclosed charges will be shown where applicable.
Payment disputes
Contact Dark Forge promptly with a billing concern so it can be investigated. A dispute or chargeback does not transfer Provider Materials, create source-code ownership, expand license rights, or erase amounts lawfully earned. This policy imposes no punitive chargeback fee and does not remove rights supplied by applicable law or a payment provider.
Contact
Billing questions may be sent to DarkForgeAutomation@protonmail.com.