Welcome to Academy of Heroes ("we," "us," or "our"). These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Academy of Heroes governing your access to and use of our web application and services (collectively, the "Service"). Please read these Terms carefully before using the Service.

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Who May Use the Service

Teacher Accounts: The Service is intended for use by educators (teachers) who are at least 18 years of age. By registering for a teacher account, you represent that you are at least 18 years old, have the legal authority to enter into this agreement, and are using the Service in a professional educational capacity.

Student Accounts: Student accounts may only be created by a registered teacher. Students do not self-register. Teachers are responsible for ensuring that student use of the Service complies with applicable school policies, parental consent requirements, and applicable laws including FERPA and COPPA. Students access the Service under the supervision and authority of their teacher.

Co-Teacher Accounts: Teachers may invite co-teachers to assist in managing a classroom. Co-teachers are bound by these Terms and their access is limited to the permissions granted by the primary teacher.

2. Teacher Accounts and Responsibilities

As a teacher using the Service, you agree to:

Provide accurate and complete registration information and keep it up to date.
Maintain the confidentiality of your account credentials and be responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
Use the Service only for lawful educational purposes and in compliance with your school's acceptable use policies.
Obtain any required parental consents before enrolling students, particularly for students under 13 as required by COPPA.
Ensure that content you create within the Service (quests, missions, questions) is appropriate for your students' age group and complies with applicable educational standards.
Notify us immediately at support@academy-heroes.com of any unauthorized access to your account.

We are not responsible for the educational content created by individual teachers, including but not limited to quest narratives, quiz questions, or mission instructions.

3. Subscriptions, Billing, and Free Trial

Free Trial

New teacher accounts receive a 30-day free trial at the Archmage tier (our highest subscription level) upon registration. No payment information is required to start the trial. At the end of the trial period, your account will be restricted to read-only access until you select and activate a paid subscription plan. You will not be charged automatically at the end of your trial.

Subscription Plans

Academy of Heroes offers the following subscription tiers for teacher accounts:

Squire — Basic access tier.
Journeyman — Intermediate access tier.
Archmage — Full access tier with all features.

Each tier is available on a monthly or annual billing cycle. Current pricing is displayed on the billing page within your account. We reserve the right to change subscription pricing with at least 30 days' notice to existing subscribers.

Payment

Subscriptions are processed through PayPal. By subscribing, you authorize PayPal to charge your selected payment method on a recurring basis (monthly or annually) until you cancel. All payments are in U.S. dollars. You are responsible for ensuring your payment information is accurate and up to date.

Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account billing page or by contacting us at support@academy-heroes.com. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. You will retain full access to your plan's features until that date. Cancellation does not delete your account or your classroom data.

Refunds

Subscription fees are generally non-refundable. However, if you experience a material service failure or are charged in error, please contact us within 14 days of the charge at support@academy-heroes.com and we will review your request in good faith. Annual plan subscribers who cancel within 7 days of their renewal date may be eligible for a prorated refund at our discretion.

Failed Payments

If a payment fails, your account may be downgraded or suspended until payment is successfully processed. We will attempt to notify you via email before any access restrictions are applied.

4. Code of Conduct

All users (teachers and students) agree not to use the Service to:

Engage in any activity that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable.
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other user accounts, or Academy of Heroes systems.
Cheat, exploit software bugs, use automated scripts or bots, or otherwise undermine the integrity of the gamification system.
Post or transmit content that is inappropriate, offensive, sexually explicit, or in violation of your school's acceptable use policies.
Impersonate another person, student, teacher, or Academy of Heroes staff member.
Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service.
Scrape, crawl, or systematically harvest data from the Service.

Violation of this Code of Conduct may result in the immediate suspension or permanent termination of your account without refund.

5. Intellectual Property

Our Property: The Academy of Heroes platform, including its design, software, graphics, game mechanics, and all content created by us, is owned by Academy of Heroes and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from our platform without our express written permission.

Your Content: Educational content you create within the Service (quest hubs, chapters, missions, etc.) remains your intellectual property. By using the Service, you grant Academy of Heroes a limited, non-exclusive license to host, store, and display your content solely as necessary to provide the Service to you and your students.

Royal Library Submissions: If you voluntarily submit content to the Academy of Heroes Royal Library, you grant Academy of Heroes and other teachers on the platform a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to view and use that content for educational purposes. You represent that you have the right to share any content you submit and that it does not infringe any third-party rights. You may withdraw content from the Royal Library at any time by unsharing it from your account.

6. Role of the Teacher and Limitation of Our Responsibility

Teachers act as the administrators and supervisors of their classroom's use of the Service. Academy of Heroes provides tools and infrastructure; we are not responsible for:

The accuracy or appropriateness of teacher-created educational content.
Student conduct within the platform.
Disputes between teachers and students, or between teachers and parents.
Any decisions made by teachers regarding grades, rewards, or student standing based on in-game performance.

In-game currency (gold) and experience points (XP) have no real-world monetary value and cannot be exchanged for cash or goods outside the platform.

7. Account Termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us at support@academy-heroes.com. Upon account closure, all associated student accounts and classroom data will be permanently deleted within 30 days.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account, with or without notice, for violation of these Terms, non-payment, or any conduct we determine to be harmful to the platform or its users. In cases of termination for cause, no refund will be issued.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that:

The Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components.
Any errors or defects in the Service will be corrected.
The results obtained from use of the Service will be accurate or reliable.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Academy of Heroes and its owners, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of or inability to use the Service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising under these Terms shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you paid to Academy of Heroes in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Academy of Heroes and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your access to or use of the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) content you create or submit through the Service; or (d) your violation of any rights of another party.

11. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, United States, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Before initiating any formal legal proceeding, you agree to first contact us at support@academy-heroes.com to attempt to resolve the dispute informally. If we cannot resolve a dispute informally within 30 days, either party may pursue resolution through binding arbitration or small claims court.

Any legal action or proceeding arising under these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the federal or state courts located in Texas, and you hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

Class Action Waiver: You agree that any dispute resolution will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice through the Service or by email to the address associated with your teacher account at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and may cancel your account.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us:

Email: support@academy-heroes.com
Website: www.academy-heroes.com