You can run this setting with no changes to vanilla 5e dnd. This will work fine. However for an optimal experience I really suggest a few changes to stock rules
I wrote a series of blog posts in this (part1, part2, part3) that outlines the reasons behind the changes I recommend and how to implement them.
The tl;dr is a age of sail campaign works best if you run a relatively low level campaign, limit spells that directly effect seafaring (the The Lady’s Law is an example of this) and adopt an alternate rule system for naval mass combat.
I especially recommend using alternate rules (Blood and Plunder ) for ship to ship combat dor the following reasons.
- The ship models are gorgeous
- The level of historical accuracy is very high
- The game mechanics are smooth and easy
- The length of a ship engagement (around 45 minutes) fit well into a play session.
- The basic unit of abstraction (one model = one actual person, a dice rolled is an actual person making an attack) had the potential to mesh well with D&D as opposed to other systems that generally had a higher level of abstraction.
- Naval combat was designed with 1-3 ships on each side, but a higher level of abstraction game (Oak and Iron) was available that simulated fleet on fleet actions. Haven't used that yet but good to know it is there if needed
- The game was specifically built around pirates, and thus the thematic elements supported were very synergistic
- It was a living game, with constant new content and an engaged and growing community
There are other reasons as well. It's generally a great game.
It took only a little work to houserule a way to "import" the player characters into the B&P combat system, and we were off and running.
in addition, since sea voyages play such an important role in nautical adventures I created a set of Sea Voyage Rules that provide a framework for running such a journey.