It wouldn't be realistic. It would be something of a more mystical nature.
Well glad we agree atleast that it wouldn't be realistic to implement such a skill. Guess I only have to remind you then that the goal of PS is to make a realistic world.
It has to do with flavour, ingame history, the idea of lore, and it's a reflection of how long your character has been around and how much opportunity your character has had to make a difference. These things are all IC.
Looking past the fact that your selfquote is not an answer, I already said heroism as a concept might be IC but that the mechanic is not.
Look at it from a characters point of view.
Char A talks with Char B and sees Char C walking around with a heroshield.
Char A: Do you know that guy?
Char B: Uhm believe I saw him begging for money two year s ago but haven't seen him since.
Char A: So why can he wear that heroic shield then and I can not while I was the main savior of the three rogue invasion of Oja?
Char B shrugs not knowing what to say
With a quest you could say it is IC or with a GMevent you could say this becuase someone did something IC to earn it. You want to use an OOC measure what can't be explained IC and only OOC and so your plan is OOC. There is nothing mystic about that.