I know I'm not a part of the IC anymore as a matter of style, but perhaps I can continue the discussion regarding homunculi, golems and constructs in medieval high fantasy settings... not necessarily that of Kurn.

[quote=TheCaptainQ]
While Leonardo davinci did make machines and a literal mechanical lion for the king, Leonardo's designs were not at the level of ...your characters'. He was a genius, but he worked with what they had at the time.
[/quote]

But then, Leonardo didn't have access to magic (or "unobtainium" super substances) which he could have used to animate his creations, as well as conjure servitors and forces to help him fashion more precise parts. In some settings... there exists a history of wizards and spellcasters creating golems and other constructs that he could have drawn from.... including a history of demons employing the services of construct Retrievers for instance.

I just lament leaning to use the "sci-fi" moniker in this case, when only magic was used to provide the creature with its animating energy, and in the use his "mechas"... the ability to manipulate, bend and warp itself and its its own body to fit over another creature. As far as building the construct's body prior to the addition of magic goes, that's on the level of what Leonardo could have probably done... smithing, sculpting, carving, tanning, affixing, fitting adjoining parts.

Here is the [url=http://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/templates/effigy.shtml]Effigy template[/url] that reflects Xukhezur's main construct (just for reference)... prior to the magic used to give it my [i]homebrewed[/i] [url=http://magerune.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-mecha-subtype.html]mecha subtype[/url], replacing its internal parts with a cavity for its would be occupant, lined with protomatter... the stuff demiplanes are made from, when spellcasters use the [url=http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/genesis.htm]Genesis[/url] spell.