Editing Gnoll (section)

=Physiology=
As mentioned above, gnolls, pronounced 'Noll' as the G is silent, are hyena-based beast-men, so they resemble humanoid creatures with clawed fingers and the tails, pelts and heads of hyenas. Exactly which aspect of their physiology dominates, the man or the beast, depends on edition and to an extent on setting; their original AD&D art makes them very humanoid, but later editions have made them more feral, with typically hunched back, longer arms, and shorter legs, leading to a more primal, ape-like body-stance. They also have gone from human-like legs to more digitigrade legs, complete with paws in lieu of feet. 

In some settings, such as the [[Wicked Fantasy]] setting, it's stated that gnolls can actually move around more quickly and easily on all fours, furthering their "primalness".

Gnolls typically are portrayed with features akin to the spotted hyena, the largest, most aggressive and sociable of hyena species, most notably the pelt coloration. In 3.5's Monster Manual IV, 4e's Playing Gnolls, and Pathfinder's Monster Codex, it's stated that female gnolls are actually larger and more aggressive than males, which is another trait iconic of the spotted hyena.

The Kholo are actually divided into four subraces that visually resemble the four species of hyenas, resulting in Ant Gnolls (Small-sized, based on the Aardwolf), Great Gnolls (obligatory Spotted Hyenas), stripy-colored Sweetbreath Gnolls (based on Striped Hyenas), and brown, shaggy Witch Gnolls (based on the Brown Hyena).