Four-Temperament Ensemble

"''"Leonardo leads, ''Donatello does machines, ''Raphael is cool but rude, Michelangelo is a party dude!""

- Theme to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

A Five-Man Band specializes by role to the team. Someone leads, someone disagrees, someone is smart, someone is tough, and someone ensures that none of the above kill each other.

Unfortunately, when writing within context of a certain profession, goal, or genre, some of these roles are useless, and especially when characters are in groups that are supposed to be specialized, it doesn't make sense to have some of these roles; in a group of scientific researchers, wouldn't all of them be smart? In a group of politicians, wouldn't all of them lead and disagree? Don't astronauts have to be well-rounded and exceptional in many ways?

But there is a way to make a group of people diverse without giving them specialized roles in a form of a group that would probably best be specialized for questing. One way is through personality, in this case based off of wacky ancient pseudoscience.

The four temperaments (also called the "four humors") was a theory that behavior was caused by concentrations of body fluids—the "humours" of Classical medicine: namely blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. Each of these would affect a person's personality differently, and the way these fluids were thought to affect behavior eventually became a part of personality theory, eventually separated completely from the idea that fluids actually controlled behavior. However, the names still remain. An ensemble based on these four humors can make the ensemble diverse without actually changing the roles of the characters in the show's continuity.

The four temperaments (humors) are:


 * : Extroverted and people-oriented. Exhibits optimism, good cheer, a love of fun, enthusiasm. On the flip side, they may be impulsive, arrogant, self-indulgent, easily angered or upset, wear their hearts on their sleeves, or even be a space case. Corresponds to the element of air. If female, will be a Genki Girl, The Pollyanna, or a more plucky/out-going Proper Lady.
 * : Extroverted and task-oriented. Exhibits leadership, dominance, ambition, charisma, passion. But also shows narrow-mindedness, obsession, and a Hair-Trigger Temper. Likes to be independent and have control over others; could be a Bad Boss if in charge. Corresponds to the element of fire. If female, will be a fierce and Hot-Blooded Lady of War or a Tsundere.
 * Melancholic (black bile): Introverted and task-oriented. Independent, courteous, organized, hard-working, analytical; but also a detached, brooding, obsessive perfectionist whose insanely high standards lead to depression. Corresponds to the element of earth. If female, will be a more brooding/loner type Ice Queen.
 * : Introverted and people-oriented. Is calm, stoic, reliable, compassionate, observant; but also lazy, reactionary, docile. Tends to be dependent on others, either by choice or because of insecurity. Corresponds to the element of water. If female, will be either a Dandere, Shrinking Violet, submissive Proper Lady, a more calm and collected Lady of War, or an emotionless Ice Queen.

Alternatively, there's a system of five temperaments where the Phlegmatic is moved into a central, fifth position, with the fourth corner being filled by the Supine temperament:
 * : Quiet, friendly, nonconfrontational, and dependent on others. Basically narrows the first type phlegmatic category down to those whose introversion is due to shyness and/or low self-esteem.
 * : The "middle of the road" temperament. Someone who typically doesn't exhibit the extremes or weaknesses of the four basic temperaments. In a positive light: Balanced and well-rounded in character (half-way between temperaments). In a negative light: Empty and devoid of character (having no temperament). If the character is a hero, then Hot-Blooded can hold this role (due to being standard, and most other characters would recieve Choleric or Sanguine for such behaviour). The positive light is commonly reserved for secondary characters like Wise Old Mentors, because more extreme "temperamental" characters are easier to identify with and thus make more popular heroes.

A Four Temperament Ensemble will have one character to fit each one of these four temperaments. Sometimes a Five Man Band with four members will also be a Four Temperament Ensemble, but in many cases, they're mutually exclusive. For the five-temperament version, the most common match-ups for the roles would be: The Hero - Phlegmatic (type II), The Lancer - Choleric, The Big Guy - Sanguine, The Smart Guy - Melancholic, The Chick - Supine.

There is also some overlap with Power Trio scenarios: The McCoy is usually Sanguine, The Kirk is usually Phlegmatic, and The Spock is usually Choleric; in these cases, the Melancholic role will be filled by a prominent supporting character, who is still clearly outside of the triad. in Red Oni, Blue Oni, a Red Oni will likely be Choleric or Sanguine, while a Blue Oni will more likely be Melancholic or Phlegmatic. A five-temperament version could be seen as the maximum extension of a Power Trio - The Phlegmatic Type II is The Kirk, The Choleric and The Sanguine are The McCoy, the angry side and the carefree side respectively, and The Melancholic and The Supine are The Spock, the obnoxious side and the withdrawn side respectively.

They are also similar to the four Personality Blood Types, and are sometimes also a Four-Element Ensemble. See also Cast Calculus for the overarching archetypes in this and differently numbered ensembles. Here is an Image Archive for this trope.

Additionally, Pseudolonewolf (of MARDEK fame) has a page that goes into great detail on the four temperaments, here.

For another way to split up a group of four, see Four-Philosophy Ensemble.

Fan Works

 * In the Death Note fic The End Is Near: Mello's Sanguine, Light's Choleric, L's Melancholic, and Matt is Phlegmatic.

Newspaper Comics

 * The four main characters in Peanuts seem to fall into this; Charlie Brown is melancholic, Linus is phlegmatic, Sally is sanguine, and Lucy is choleric.
 * In Pearls Before Swine: Pig - Sanguine, Rat - Choleric, Goat - Melancholic, Zebra - Phlegmatic.

Tabletop Games

 * Intentionally invoked in Promethean: The Created. The five Lineages of Prometheans are Frankensteins (choleric), Golems (Melancholic), Galateids (Sanguine), Osirans (phlegmatic), and Ulgan (associated with the "humor" of ectoplasm.) The character's balance of humors is actually an important gameplay point.
 * Also invoked in Tribe8 with the monstrous Z'Bri, whose 4 types are named after the four humors: Koleris, Flemis, Sangis, and Melanis.
 * Magic the Gathering has this with the five Praetors of New Phyrexia:
 * Elesh Norn is Choleric.
 * Jin-Gitaxias is Melancholic.
 * Sheoldred is Phlegmatic.
 * Vorinclex is Sanguine.
 * Urabrask is Supine.
 * While FATAL does have a humors system, there is no rule forcing your party to be a Four-Temperament Ensemble. Indeed, this would actively contradict the obsessive randomisation inherent to the FATAL system.
 * In Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000, appropriately enough, the four gods of Chaos each represent an emotion and mindset. Khorne (the god of anger and bloodshed) is choleric, Slaanesh (god of passion and lust) is sanguine, Tzeentch (god of ambition and hope) is (ironically) melancholic, and Nurgle (god of despair and disease) is (appropriately) phlegmatic.

Webcomics and other Web Originals

 * The Web Comic Sacred Pie features phlegmatic leader Roonas, choleric Sid, and a very sanguine Bob.
 * Order of the Stick: Haley and Elan are Sanguine, Belkar is Choleric, V is Melancholic, Roy is Phlegmatic, and Durkon is Supine.
 * The bad guys form an ensemble as well. Xykon is Choleric, Redcloak is Melancholic, Tsukiko and Right Eye (Start of Darkness) fitted Sanguine, and Monster in the Darkness is Phlegmatic or Supine.
 * In the core group of Tales of MU, Mack is melancholic, Amaranth is sanguine, Steff is choleric, and Two is supine.
 * And Ian and Dee are both strong candidates for phlegmatic.
 * Going by the negative traits (because really, they have no others,) the cast of Exterminatus Now fits pretty nicely: East is Sanguine, Lothar is Choleric, Virus is Melancholic, and Rogue is Phlegmatic.
 * Looking at the the questing team in Digger, The Shadowchild is Sanguine, Grim Eyes is Choleric, Murai is Melancholic, and Digger is Phlegmatic.
 * Keychain of Creation: Misho is Melancholic, Marena is Choleric, and Ten Winds is Phlegmatic. Secret is a bit harder to pin down; she'd be a good fit for Sanguine, except for her low self-esteem.
 * Ctrl+Alt+Del: Ethan is sanguine, Lucas is melancholic, Lilah is choleric and Zeke is phlegmatic.
 * Questionable Content: Dora is Sanguine, Faye is Choleric, Hannerlore is Melancholic and Marten is Phlegmatic.
 * Friendly Hostility: Fox is Sanguine, Collin is Choleric, Demon is Melancholic and Derringer is Phlegmatic.
 * Homestuck: John is phlegmatic, Rose is melancholic, Dave is choleric, and Jade is sanguine.
 * And among the Midnight Crew, Spades Slick is choleric, Clubs Deuce is sanguine, Diamonds Droog is melancholic, and Hearts Boxcars is phlegmatic.
 * Among the trolls: Nepeta, Vriska and Feferi are sanguine; Karkat, Terezi and Eridan are choleric; Tavros, Kanaya and Equius are melancholic; Aradia, Sollux and Gamzee are phlegmatic.
 * Alternately, Sollux is melancholic, Tavros is phlegmatic (specifically, supine) and Vriska is choleric.
 * Ruby's World: Ruby is choleric, Alexis is sanguine, Jiro is melancholic, and Jens is Phlegmatic. Word of God says this was planned from the start.
 * Cry Havoc features Skoll a sanguine, Karcharoth a Choleric, Hati a melancholic, and Fenrir a phlegmatic. These characteristics seem to drive them apart more than unite them, as is normal.
 * The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob: Bob is Phlegmatic, Jean is Melacholic, Molly is Sanguine, and Voluptua is Choleric (although Jean certainly has the hair-trigger temper of a Choleric).
 * The two teams in Red vs. Blue fit, Red moreso than Blue.
 * Red Team: Sarge - classic Choleric, Griff and Lopez - classic Plegmatic, Simmons - Melancholic, and Donut - Sanguine
 * Blue Team: Church and Tex - Choleric, Tucker - Sanguine, Doc - Melancholic, and Caboose - neutral Phlegmatic, despite being a complete The Ditz.
 * The four main characters of the Web Animation series Broken Saints fit fairly well: Oran is Choleric, Kamimura is Melancholic, Raimi is Phlegmatic, and Shandala is Sanguine. (albeit, Shandala doesn't quite fit any of them, but her bright, cheerful, and compassionate nature recommend her most to Sanguine)
 * The Light Warriors of 8-Bit Theater: Red Mage is Sanguine (emphasis on arrogant and self-indulgent), Thief is Choleric (emphasis on narrow-minded and obsessive), Fighter is Phlegmatic (emphasis on lazy and reactionary), and Black Mage is Melancholic (emphasis on independence and perfection).
 * In The Dreamer, Alan is Phlegmatic Type II, Alexander is Choleric, Beatrice is Sanguine, and Nathan is Melancholic.
 * Sluggy Freelance fits this trope very well: Torg is Sanguine, Riff is Melancholic, Gwynn is Choleric, and Zoë is Phlegmatic.
 * The titular doctors of The Dragon Doctors: Sarin is Sanguine, Goro is Choleric, Mori is Melancholic, and Kili and Aki are Phlegmatic. Fittingly, the four were also compared by the artist to Air, Fire, Earth, and Water, respectively, matching the Four Temperments' elemental affiliations.
 * An entire episode of the webseries Cracked After Hours is devoted to discussing how many famous groups of four adhere to this schema, even describing several groups already listed on this page (though it's worth noting that they have misattributed the sanguine qualities to choleric characters, and vice versa). As they are also a quartet, they even describe themselves (indirectly, through analogy to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
 * By their definition: Michael is Choleric, Dan is Phlegmatic, Soren is Melancholic, and Katie is Sanguine.
 * By our definition: Michael is Sanguine, Dan is Melancholic, Soren is Choleric, and Katie is Phlegmatic.
 * Narbonic: Helen is sanguine, Mell is choleric, Dave is phlegmatic and Artie is melancholic.
 * The main four characters in Our Little Adventure. Julie is Sanguine, Angelika is Choleric, Rocky is Melancholic, and Lenny is Phlegmatic.
 * The Quirky Miniboss Squad in The Fourth. Slice is Sanguine, Ecta is Choleric, Davis is Melancholic and Floyd is Phlegmatic.