Whoa, how do you play without a numeric keypad. I can't even begin to play without it due to muscle memory...
Lazy Newb Pack comes with a laptop keybinding set that is pretty good.
My laptop has a numeric keypad actually (Dell inspiron 15). And yes I can't imagine playing without it.
++ large laptops.
I bought a USB numpad for my T60 laptop so I could play.
I've been playing since about 2009 or so, and I've actually almost never used a numeric keypad. Unless I'm forgetting something in some deep part of my settings, you don't actually need anything in particular from the numeric pad that you don't get from a standard laptop keyboard layout.
Nethack/modified vim key binds
Arrow keys
Given the long-play nature of the game, would a mobile version of the game work for more casual play-and-pause?
I highly doubt it. The interaction required by the user wouldn't suit a mobile game very well. Additionally, the game is CPU intensive and would, as is, drain the battery very quickly.
I imagine both these issues would mean a massive refactoring in order to bring it to mobile.
Playing via telnet to a remote server is the best chance.
It seems it uses OpenGL[0], so to play via telnet (or, better, ssh) you'd still need to rewrite at least the UI part of the game.