How I See Five-Man Bands

[Arch9CivilReactor]

It has to be said that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the trope. Some writers get too fixated on the number 5, their roles as Leader/Lancer/Heart/Smart Guy/Big Guy, and try to morph their stories to fit the trope.

Even though this is just an EXAMPLE of a group dynamic. If you’re able to write a better one and can visualise it, you may surpass the trope itself with greater variety. Maybe everyone in the group is a lancer idk. If there’s anything to learn from the trope it’d be how to designate a ‘Leader’.

Hero stories tend to have a central character in the group that’s more narratively important than the rest.

That, and it’s sometimes easier to focus on your favourite character in the group.

If your group doesn’t have a leader then it’s more than likely there won’t be any focus on a main goal throughout the story. Leaders don’t need to be allrounders, but they do need to be fleshed out a lot more than the rest of the cast.

Normally, the reason they’re allrounders in the first place is because the rest of the team has very extreme strengths and weaknesses. They can coexist with each group member independently without the other characters.

That’s just my personal take on this anyway. If you’re able to stray from the trope to do your own group dynamic, then try that first. The trope is more of a point of reference than a box you have to fit your main character group into.

I personally have my own philosophy of how a five-man band should function.

Hopefully you guys do too.

 

[Supperset]

It has to be said that there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the trope. Some writers get too fixated on the number 5, their roles as Leader/Lancer/Heart/Smart Guy/Big Guy, and try to morph their stories to fit the trope.

Even though this is just an EXAMPLE of a group dynamic. If you’re able to write a better one and can visualise it, you may surpass the trope itself with greater variety. Maybe everyone in the group is a lancer idk. If there’s anything to learn from the trope it’d be how to designate a ‘Leader’.

Hero stories tend to have a central character in the group that’s more narratively important than the rest.

That, and it’s sometimes easier to focus on your favourite character in the group.

If your group doesn’t have a leader then it’s more than likely there won’t be any focus on a main goal throughout the story. Leaders don’t need to be allrounders, but they do need to be fleshed out a lot more than the rest of the cast.

Normally, the reason they’re allrounders in the first place is because the rest of the team has very extreme strengths and weaknesses. They can coexist with each group member independently without the other characters.

That’s just my personal take on this anyway. If you’re able to stray from the trope to do your own group dynamic, then try that first. The trope is more of a point of reference than a box you have to fit your main character group into.

I personally have my own philosophy of how a five-man band should function.

Hopefully you guys do too.

Exactly. Everyone gets trapped in the mindset that they need those roles to make it work, when you really really don't. You could write a team consisting of only tanks, no matter the numbers, and still make it work, somehow.

Don't be rigid, it will be your downfall.

TLTR
I ate a funny candy and got high.

 

[Zagaroth]

You want to talk about five-man-bands?

Do you have some time to watch some entertaining videos dissecting the topic? Because Red of OSP has a short list on the topic, starting with the general trope and then working on different roles.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Hmm.
Jack Diamond usually has a partner - and does about 75% of the heavy lifting himself.

Sparrow can run with zero to five partners in her team, depending on the needs of the story at the moment (and because I've found five side characters is the most I can follow effectively). Since they are narrating their story, Sparrow/Kelly is the center of it all and fills most of the roles, usually only needing a Smart Guy or a Lancer for support, unless facing a large group then they need a full band.

Dane ... usually is either "alone" (except for his System VICC) or has Joshua with support characters off doing supporting stuff that is probably just as interesting, but it's HIS story not theirs, so most of the time the readers only find out about it after the fact.

David West has his Five - something I set before I knew that such a trope existed. But it is really a team of six (unless you don't count him... or ignore the detail that the Warrior - the "Strong One" will be forced to change before the end) - but they're ALL pretty much "the smart guy" with Malcolm as probably the Heart and no real Lancer. David is the Leader (though he doesn't always act it and Audrey will take over occasionally). His kids will probably have five (haven't gotten that far yet) with his daughter as the Smart One and her twin brother the Strong One. But that's a way off and I haven't developed their cast or story beyond bare bones.

Nathan is part of a pair, almost always (sometimes has one or two extra support characters) - he does 80-90% of the "heavy lifting" but he's not the Smart Guy nor the Leader - those jobs fall to his human partner usually.

For stories I haven't posted here...
Assassin King will usually have five - but focuses on a core of three (two who kind of swap between Smart One and Leader with the other alternating between Lancer and Strong One - at least until they pick up the other two members of the band, a Stronger One (by far) and a Wise Advisor (who can fight and do other stuff but that's mostly what he is)).
In The Gray Files ... Michael Gray (who's just a cab driver... oh, and possibly the most powerful mage on two words) has a partner and will pick up (and drop) allies regularly - but he also tends to play fast and loose with those pesky things called 'facts.'
In Out of Time there will be a "real" team of four but it focuses mainly on two.
Stranded is one alien who makes friends with five humans. And that literally is as far as I developed that one. But that alien, 'Scout' is designed to fill all five roles...

 

[Macha]

Carefully. With your eyes.

 

[MasterY001]

A five-man band doesn't even need five people. They don't have to fit together perfectly to be an interesting group either. I didn’t even know about this trope for quite a long time when I started writing.

 

[Arch9CivilReactor]

You want to talk about five-man-bands?

Do you have some time to watch some entertaining videos dissecting the topic? Because Red of OSP has a short list on the topic, starting with the general trope and then working on different roles.

Saw it and definitely remember it.