A Quad is a term used in the Sword of Truth fantasy series by Terry Goodkind. On the cover of Stone of Tears, Richard is seen holding, presumably, the Sword of Truth. ... Terry Goodkind (born 1948) is a contemporary American writer and author of the best-selling epic fantasy series, The Sword of Truth, which according to his publisher TOR in an August, 2006 press release[1] has more than 10 million copies in print and has been translated into 20 different...

Description

A Quad is a specially trained group of four assassins from D'Hara assigned primarily to hunt down and kill important and hard-to-kill people. Richard is bigger than most men and members of a quad are much bigger than him. Quads often had the protection of a spell from the one who sent them (Panis or Darken Rahl). It was not only their assignment to kill the victim, but to make it unimaginably tortuous and brutal. DHara is a fictional location in the Sword of Truth fantasy series by Terry Goodkind. ... Richard Rahl (aka Richard Cypher) is the protagonist in the Sword of Truth fantasy series by Terry Goodkind. ... Panis Rahl is a fictional character from the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. ... Darken Rahl is a fictional character from Terry Goodkinds The Sword of Truth series. ...

Panis and Darken Rahl always sent four men in a quad to capture a Confessor. It is expected that one will be touched by her power. It takes the three left to kill the one and the Confessor. The reason it takes three is because the one will fight so fiercely he usually kills one, often two, but that still leaves at least one to kill the Confessor. Sometimes only one was left, but that was enough after a Confessor had spent her power. On a rare occasion, the one would kill all three, but only with the most powerful Confessors. A quad is the most economical unit to send, they almost always succeed, and if they don't, Rahl would simply send another. The members of a quad take great enjoyment from what they do to Confessors before they kill them. Confessors are a race of people in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. ...

The clothing members of a quad wear can vary depending on the terrain, but typically they wear green hooded forest cloaks that shades their face but can't conceal their heavily muscled bulk. They are typically armed to the teeth. Buckles and leather belts beneath their cloaks typically hold an arsenal of weapons such as curved knives and short swords and they also typically wear leather gloves. They are the kind of men you try not to look in the eye. Some may have a scabbard with a short sword strapped across their back. Most have thick blonde hair, a thick neck, and are fairly good-looking with rugged, handsome faces (typical features of D'Harans). Although larger than most men, they can move with stealth and quickness and stalk their prey without being detected, as well as cut down their enemies in a heartbeat. Their voices are typically deep, even friendly. Pain usually does not bother them. They are relentless. They will not stop, don't know the meaning of it, and never think of anything but their objective. A leather glove is a fitted covering for the hand with a separate sheath for each finger and the thumb, and this covering is composed of the tanned hide of an animal (with the hair removed), though it is not uncommon in recent years for the leather to be synthetic. ...

They have been known to cut themselves (typically their forearm) accompanied by a depraved grin in an attempt to intimidate their opponent. They often attack with the howling battle cry of men prepared to die in mortal combat. When victorious, death is usually the best part of the rest of their victim's life. One member of the quad is usually assigned as the leader and spokesperson for the group.

It is uncertain why they do not simply use bows or other ranged weapons to slay confessors without being touched, though the most likely reason is psychological warfare.