The nimbus is a creature from the Quasielemental Plane of Lightning. An occasional visitor to the Prime Material Plane, it's seen only in high mountain ranges, and then only during the storm season, entering the plane through vortices that sometimes open at the core of mighty thunderstorms.
Composed entirely of electrical energy, the nimbus has no fixed form. It can appear as ball lightning, sheet lightning, bolt lightning, or St. Elmo's fire, changing from one form to another at will. When a nimbus is is aroused, it generates a static charge powerful enough to give creatures within 30 feet an uncomfortable feeling of "their hair standing on end." Within ten feet of the nimbus, this static charge is enough to cause any ferrous metal objects to glow with St. Elmo's fire. This does no damage, though it may look dangerous.
On the Material+Plane they are solitary creatures. On their own plane they are common, congregating in groups. They have no conception that "bags of mostly water" (like animals and humanoids) are alive. If they think about it at all, the creatures are more likely to assume that energy phonomena like fires and lightning bolts are alive.
Source: Greyhawk Adventures
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