Sorry, I haven't had time to read everything, so that is the reason why it might be off topic.
I believe the heroism should be based mainly on the time the character has existed, how many people have put this character in their buddy list, and also of the character's parents/childhood. It should also be based on the stats, the distance traveled, the quests achieved and maybe also creatures killed (taking in account how powerful they are).
Obviously, the longer a person has existed, the more known he will be, because he had time to do many more things then a new person.
For the buddy list system, I reckon it might be a good idea because for a person to put you in their buddy list, you must be interacting with them, either by helping them, or by simply talking to them.
The parents and childhood should be taken in account because the child of two normal farmers will never be as recognised as the child of two exceptional octarches.
The number of quests accomplished will mean that many more NPCs will know you.
The stats can only be acquired by time and effor, so it should also be counted.
The distance traveled should also be taken into account because by traveling, you see more people/NPCs, fight more creatures, and know more of the area/landscape.
The number of creatures killed will mean also how active you are, just like traveling.
My main reason to have so many things to be taken into account is that for a person to gain heroism, he well need to do many things, and also, a hero doesn't do just one thing; He those many. By having many difference things to take into account will also mean that it will be harder to hack.
