Quest of the Hero of Tatooine

In the year 1 ABY, amidst the Galactic Civil War, a solitary spacer ventured into the Squill Cave on Tatooine. The voyager journeyed deep into the subterranean structure, eventually discovering an aged Rodian hermit at its depths. The spacefarer greeted the elder, and they began a discussion, which soon shifted to the unfortunate state of the galaxy. The hermit lamented the unchecked freedom of criminals and pirates, the demise of the Old Republic, the near extinction of the Jedi, and the looming threat of the Galactic Empire.

The spacer expressed complete agreement with the hermit's sentiments, which pleased the reclusive old man. The hermit emphasized the galaxy's desperate need for heroes, individuals who exemplified unwavering dedication to the light. While acknowledging the spacer's youth and impetuosity, the hermit suggested that they might one day become such a hero. The spacer promptly declared their capability to achieve heroism. The hermit welcomed such noble intentions but stressed that they were merely intentions. He asserted that true heroism required action. When the spacer inquired about proving their heroic worth, the Rodian instructed them to traverse the Tatooine wastelands, performing acts of selflessness and heroism. He outlined the necessary qualities of a hero—intelligence, courage, honor, and altruism—and promised to bestow the Mark of the Hero upon the spacer if they demonstrated these traits through their actions.

The spacer asked the hermit about the Mark of the Hero, prompting the hermit to reveal that he was not always an old man living in a dirty cave in the deserts of Tatooine. He recounted his youthful victories against the forces of darkness and how he wore the Mark as a reminder of his cause. He vowed to pass the Mark of the Hero to the spacer if they proved themselves worthy, demonstrating a commitment to continuing his legacy of heroic deeds. The spacer accepted the hermit's lifelong crusade, but the old Rodian required a preliminary test. The hermit had lost a squill skull, which he was using for research. He explained that the squill within the cave had stolen it, and if the spacer recovered it, he would set them on the path to becoming the Hero of Tatooine. The spacer searched the cave's depths, finding the skull in a squill's nest and returning it to the delighted hermit. Convinced of their worthiness, the hermit informed the spacer that they needed to acquire four distinct marks, each representing a crucial heroic quality: the Mark of Intellect, the Mark of Honor, the Mark of Courage, and the Mark of Altruism.

The spacer first sought information on the task associated with the Mark of Intellect. The hermit explained that to earn this mark, the spacer needed to find someone in need of their wisdom. He suggested seeking out a bounty hunter requiring assistance or perhaps a complex puzzle to solve. He advised the spacer to explore the cities of Tatooine, as they would find what they sought within one of them.

The spacer followed this advice, searching the various settlements of Tatooine until they encountered the bounty hunter Tearfin surrounded by six smugglers, specifically Rh'klin, Parugga, D'lonis, Barosk, Klaphini and Captain Himfan. The spacer approached the bounty hunter and offered their help, which she readily accepted. She explained that she had been tracking her target for some time and knew that the target was among the group of smugglers but could not identify which one. She revealed that the person she was after had stolen a crate of equipment, but no one had gotten a clear look at them. She also mentioned that the stolen crate had a transponder attached to it. Unfortunately, the transponder signal had died shortly after arriving on Tatooine, leading her to believe that the thief had discovered and destroyed it.

She further explained that she had gathered all the known smugglers in the city and questioned them about the crate, but none had been forthcoming. She added that she did not suspect the smuggler captain, as she knew and trusted him, but the others were simply blaming each other. She requested the spacer's help in identifying the culprit. After thorough detective work, which involved questioning each smuggler and attempting to catch them in a lie, the spacer identified the thief. The spacer informed the bounty hunter, who immediately took the guilty party into custody. Thanking the spacer, she departed toward the starport with her captive. Later, the spacer discovered an unusual sculpture in their pack, identified as the Mark of Intellect.

The spacer returned to the hermit's desert dwelling and inquired about the Mark of Honor. The hermit explained that a band of pirates were causing trouble for a married couple of ranchers somewhere in the dunes. He instructed them to find these besieged people and choose the right course of action. The hermit provided the spacer with the coordinates of the pirate's base and sent them on their way.

Upon arriving at the small desert bunker, the spacer immediately began infiltrating it, defeating any pirates who stood in their way. The star-hopper reached the bottom level of the bunker and confronted the pirate leader. After a brief battle, the defeated pirate begged for his life, and the spacer relented but demanded to know why he was terrorizing the ranchers. The pirate leader explained that he was attacking the ranchers because they had captured some of his crew during an earlier raid. He asked the spacer to free his crew and provided the location of the rancher's house, which was outside of Mos Eisley.

The spacer traveled to the house and, after a brief search, entered. The spacer noticed the sensible decorations and the aroma of baked goods, as well as faint murmuring in the distance. A startled woman named Helen Goldenfield greeted the spacer, demanding to know their purpose and whether they were another thug. She threatened to imprison the spacer like the pirates, but the spacer quickly convinced her that they were there to help. After calming down, she explained that her husband had gone to alert the authorities about the pirates in their home and the corsair group's presence nearby. The rancher's wife asked the spacer to watch over the captive pirates in the basement while she went outside to compose herself, which the spacer readily agreed to do.

The spacer went downstairs to guard the basement door and overheard a voice from the nearby intercom. The captive raiders tried to persuade the spacer to release them, but the spacer refused. After ensuring that the pirates could not escape, the spacer returned upstairs to inform the rancher's wife of the pirate's escape attempt. The woman was relieved by the spacer's honorable actions, and at that moment, she heard her husband, Roric Goldenfield, returning with two Imperial dark troopers who arrested the pirates. The ranchers graciously thanked the spacer, who then decided to leave. On the way back to the hermit, the spacer found another sculpture piece in their pack, this time etched with "Mark of Honor." The spacer had completed their second test.

The spacer returned to the hermit's cave home once more and requested information on their next task: the Mark of Courage. The hermit explained that Tatooine was home to a ferocious beast that was terrorizing an already troubled world. The hermit instructed the spacer to speak to the citizens of Tatooine, as they would provide the necessary information. The spacer decided to begin in Mos Espa and inquired about the creature among the local populace. They were eventually told that the creature was a wild bladeback boar that had been terrorizing the town. The spacer began searching the city's outskirts and eventually found the boar's lair. The spacer quickly attacked the dangerous beast and eventually killed it. The spacer noticed a glittering object on the boar's corpse and, upon closer inspection, discovered the third mark within its entrails: the Mark of Courage. The spacer stuffed it into their pack and returned to the Squill Cave.

The spacer returned to the hermit for a fourth time and asked about the final mark, the Mark of Altruism. He instructed the spacer that to obtain this mark, they must selflessly help someone in need. He added that a farmer was desperately crying out for a hero somewhere in the arid desert heat.

The spacer began by asking around in the Tatooine settlement of Mos Taike. One of the residents mentioned that a moisture farmer had recently been in town, seeking help to rescue his family from a criminal group known as the Sennex, but that he had since left. The spacer traveled into the wastes and found the distressed farmer southeast of Mos Taike. The farmer explained that the Sennex were holding his wife and child for ransom and pleaded with the spacer to help him free them, even revealing the location where they were being held. The spacer agreed to help the poor man, and the farmer provided the coordinates to the spacer's datapad. The spacer quickly rushed to the cave where the Sennex were based. The spacer fought through the pirate's nest, eventually finding the farmer's family imprisoned behind a large boulder, unable to escape.

Searching nearby, the spacer discovered an old crate filled with explosives. Thinking quickly, the spacer used the explosives to destroy the boulder and free the farmer's captured family. The spacer spoke to the frightened mother, assuring her that they were there to rescue her. The spacer convinced her and her child to follow them out, fending off the remaining Sennex along the way. Upon reaching the cave's entrance, the woman thanked her rescuer and set off with her child to find her husband. The spacer suddenly felt their pack become heavier and looked inside to find another strange sculpture piece, marked with the words "Mark of Altruism." The spacer had passed the final test.

Having completed all the assigned tasks and acquired all four marks, the spacer returned to the hermit's underground home. The spacer informed the hermit that they had returned from their journeys and completed all the tasks. The hermit was initially skeptical, questioning whether the spacer was truly the hero he had long sought. The spacer confidently declared that they were indeed the Hero of Tatooine. The hermit congratulated the spacer on their accomplishments and, as promised, rewarded them with the Mark of the Hero, instructing them to let it serve as a reminder of their cause and the good they were fighting for. The hermit wished the young warrior luck, and the spacer left the cave, confident that they had made Tatooine a slightly safer place for its inhabitants.

The Quest of the Hero of Tatooine was a series of quests in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, before its closure on December 15, 2011.

The Hero of Tatooine questline was initially included in the game's content but was soon disabled. It was then reworked and reintroduced with enhanced content in "Publish 9," released on June 29, 2004. This version required players with the ranger profession to scan the wilds for the people and creatures needed to complete it. The reward was a ring with fifty charges that could revive the player upon death, usable once every twenty-three hours. Additionally, the four "Mark" sculptures acquired during the quest could be placed in the player's in-game house to create a unique, spherical sculpture.

With the release of "Publish 25," also known as the "New Game Enhancements," on November 15, 2005, the questline was significantly simplified. In this version, players could complete the four Mark tasks in any order and did not need a specific profession. Furthermore, if a player supported the Galactic Empire and informed the hermit of this, the hermit would refuse to offer the quest and advise them to return when their "opinions have evolved." However, the quest was broken after the New Game Enhancements were implemented until 2006.