Typical sort of characters, as in 'serfs', maybe (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
sans serif
'typical sort of characters' is the definition.
(sans serif is a sort of typeface)
'as in serfs maybe' is the wordplay.
'maybe' indicates an anagram.
'as'+'in'+'serfs'='asinserfs'
'asinserfs' is an anagram of 'SANS SERIF'.
(Other definitions for sans serif that I've seen before include "Plain style of type" , "plain type of face" , "Plain typeface" , "Style of typeface" , "Style of font" .)