Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero

Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero
Cover art of the 1989 version
Developer(s)	Sierra On-Line
Publisher(s)	Sierra On-Line
Designer(s)	Lori Ann Cole
Series	Quest for Glory
Engine	SCI0, SCI1.1 (remake)
Platform(s)	MS-DOS, Amiga, NEC PC-9801, Atari ST
Release	Floppy: October 1989 (EGA), July 1992 (VGA) CD: April 1994 (VGA only)
Genre(s)	Adventure game/role-playing video game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero (originally known as Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero) is an adventure game/role-playing game hybrid, designed by Lori Ann Cole and published by Sierra On-Line. It is the first game in the Quest for Glory series, and has been credited for being a genre-defining game, as it tried to mix graphical adventure gaming with role-playing-like elements such as statistic building (strength, intelligence, health) that would actually affect the ability to accomplish certain parts of the game. The game has a satirical and silly tone.

The original title was an adventure game with a text parser, with players typing commands for the character to perform, while the remake is a point-and-click adventure game.

The game advertised itself as "three games in one" since it was the first Sierra game that (according to RPG customs) allowed the selection of a character out of three classes: Fighter, Magic User, and Thief. What class the hero assigns to a character largely determines with what equipment the character begins, how they can solve puzzles and what quests they will run into. However, the distinction between classes was not an absolute one; players could add skills to a character and allow them to complete quests related to other classes in this game and others in the series.

Quest for Glory introduced a realism rarely found in RPGs and other adventure games even today. Day, night and the passage of time was a factor; the setting and scenery was different during day and night. The main character had to eat on a regular basis, he would become tired from running and fighting which required rest and sleep. Skills were not obtained by gaining levels through combat, but rather increased distinctly through the regular course of adventuring. The more the player used magic, the more the Hero's Magic ability would increase (followed by Intelligence); likewise the more the player engaged in battle, training, or even cleaning the baron's stables, the more the Hero's Strength, Vitality and Agility would increase.

This is one of the few Sierra adventure games where the player character has few or no speaking lines. Although the player can input commands such as "ask about brigands", the player character has almost no dialogue.

In the valley barony of Spielburg, the evil ogress Baba Yaga has cursed the land and the baron who tried to drive her off. His daughter has disappeared and his son has been transformed into a bear, while the land is ravaged by monsters and brigands. The Valley of Spielburg is in need of a Hero able to solve these problems. The player's character is a customized adventurer whose name and class is chosen by the player. The game follows the Hero, who is a recent graduate of the Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School, on his journey into the land. He must help people and become a proclaimed Hero.