Campaign Pitch

The Retirement Job

You are not a thief. Well, at least you're not just a thief. Like Cap always says, you're "problem solvers". A client needs something done, your crew gets it done. Sure, it does often seem to involve a lot of breaking into a place and stealing a thing without getting seen, but that's what the job requires.

You're a crew of specialists operating out of Saltmarsh — a coastal port town where the line between legitimate business and criminal enterprise gets blurry. Cat burglars, con artists, muscle, masterminds — professionals who've pulled jobs up and down the coast under Cap's leadership. You trust each other with your lives, and you've earned that trust through blood, sweat, and countless close calls.

Now comes the big one. The retirement job. One last score that'll set everyone up for life.

Cap's been working an angle for months — something he's keeping close to the chest, but the way he talks about it, it's big. Life-changing. The kind of score that means everyone gets to choose what comes next.

Right now, he's away securing the deal. Which means the crew is running Saltmarsh on its own, taking whatever work comes through the door and keeping the Barnacle's lights on until he gets back.

Tone & Themes

• Specialist heist crew (Ocean's 11, Leverage, Six of Crows, Mission Impossible)
• High-stakes action that evolves into moral complexity
• Nautical adventures and coastal intrigue
• Trust, loyalty, and impossible choices
• The job of a lifetime — and everything that comes with it

What This Campaign IS

• A tight-knit crew pulling off impossible jobs
• Planning, scheming, and execution under pressure
• Everyone has their specialty and moments to shine
• Nautical setting with mysteries beneath the waves
• Building a reputation (and making enemies)

What This Campaign ISN'T

• "You all meet in a tavern" with strangers
• Traditional dungeon crawl
• Pure heroic fantasy (you're criminals with a code, not knights)
• Murder-hobo friendly (reputation and relationships matter)

Character Creation

Mechanical Details

• Starting Level: 3
• Ability Scores: Standard Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8)
• Starting Equipment: Standard for your class + background
• Starting Gold: Standard for level 3 — we can adjust in Session 0 if needed
• Allowed Sources: Player's Handbook, Xanathar's Guide, Tasha's Cauldron — any official race/class option is fine
• Special Backgrounds: Saltmarsh backgrounds available (see below) or use any standard background

Campaign Setting

This campaign is set in a coastal region with a classic D&D fantasy feel. Saltmarsh is a port town on the coast, surrounded by other cities, kingdoms, and the vast ocean. You don't need to know any specific setting lore — we'll discover the world together.

You Are Specialists

Think about what makes your character uniquely valuable to a heist crew. What's your "role"?

Examples of specialist archetypes:

The Face — Cons, disguises, talking your way in/out Classes: Bard, Rogue, Warlock, Sorcerer

The Mastermind — Planning, information gathering, seeing three steps ahead Classes: Wizard, Artificer, Knowledge Cleric, Inquisitive Rogue

The Muscle — When things go loud, you make it count Classes: Fighter, Barbarian, Paladin, Ranger

The Infiltrator — Locks, traps, stealth, getting where you shouldn't be Classes: Rogue, Monk, Ranger, Gloomstalker

The Wildcard — Magic, chaos, the unexpected angle Classes: Sorcerer, Warlock, Druid, creative multiclass

The Fixer — Healing, support, keeping everyone alive and operational Classes: Cleric, Druid, Bard, Divine Soul Sorcerer

You don't need perfect party composition, but think about what YOU bring to the table that makes the crew better.

You Are Already a Crew

This is critical: You start the campaign as an established team. You've worked together for months. You trust each other, or at least you trust each other more than you trust anyone else in this business.

The campaign begins during a job, so you need to know each other well enough to work together seamlessly.

Before Session 0, Think About:

Your crew identity:

• What's your crew nickname/call sign? (Something the team calls you based on your skills or a memorable job)
• What's your signature move that the crew relies on?
• What's your "tell" that the others recognize? (Nervous habit, lucky charm, pre-job ritual)

Your bonds with the crew:

• What job went perfectly because of your skills? (Your moment to shine)
• What job went sideways and how did the crew save you? (Why you owe them)
• Who in the party do you trust most, and why?
• Who do you have history with BEFORE joining Cap's crew? (Old friends? Former rivals? Saved each other's lives?)

We'll use Session 0 to connect these threads and make sure everyone's woven together.

The Crew (So Far)

Cap

The only name he answers to. Gruff, experienced, unshakeable. He recruited each of you personally when you were nothing — saw potential others missed. Taught you the life, kept you alive, made you family.

This retirement job is his gift to the crew. One last big score, then everyone can choose what comes next. Freedom. A new life. Whatever you want.

For Session 0: How did Cap recruit YOU? What did he teach you? What does this retirement job mean to you personally?

Mags

Runs the Copper Barnacle (your home base tavern in Saltmarsh) with Cap. Sharp-tongued, warm-hearted, and impossible to fool. She keeps you all fed, grounded, and occasionally honest. The Barnacle isn't just a tavern — it's home.

The Extended Crew

Beyond the core members at the table, you work with a few other specialists:

• Rook — Ship's navigator and helmsman, been with Cap for years, knows every reef and current along the coast
• Kyra — Arcane specialist, handles magical security and tricky supernatural problems
• "Knuckles" Finn — The muscle when you need extra bodies on a job, loyal and doesn't ask questions

For Session 0: We'll establish how these crew members fit into operations and your relationships with them.

You and Your Fellow Players

The specialists who make this crew work. Each of you brings something essential to the table.

Your Ship

Beyond the Copper Barnacle, you have another home — your ship. It's not the biggest vessel on the water or the fastest, but it's yours. Well, technically it's mortgaged through Silas Kain (he helped Cap finance it), but you've made it your own over the months you've been operating together.

The ship carries you up and down the coast for jobs that need a mobile base. It's gotten you out of tight spots, weathered storms both literal and metaphorical, and seen its share of close calls. Cap's quarters are at the stern, crew bunks below deck, and there's a hidden compartment in the cargo hold that's held plenty of "special" cargo over the months.

For this retirement job, the ship is your escape route — once you have the artifact, it's waiting at the harbor for a straight shot back to Saltmarsh and freedom.

For Session 0: We'll name the ship together as a crew. Think about what kind of name fits your style — intimidating? Lucky? A joke that stuck?

Also think about:

• Where's your favorite spot on the ship?
• What small personal item do you keep in your bunk?

The Retirement Job

What You Know

The target is an ancient artifact in a coastal city's castle treasury. High security, but Cap's intel is solid — Silas Kain (a criminal overlord with deep pockets) provided the details, the timing, and bankrolled the operation.

The plan has you infiltrating the castle, reaching the top of the treasury tower, and extracting the artifact. Each of you has a role based on your skills.

The payout: enough for everyone to walk away. Retire. Start over. Build something new. Whatever you want.

How We're Starting

Session 1 starts with the crew holding down Saltmarsh in Cap's absence. Jobs come in through the usual channels — Mags passes along requests, Lucky has leads, and the docks always have something that needs doing. Nothing world-ending. Just work.

Expect early jobs to reward creativity and problem-solving over raw violence. Not every situation gets solved by whoever hits hardest — sometimes the job calls for a disguise, a clever misdirection, or a plan that sounds completely ridiculous until it somehow works perfectly. Come ready to think sideways.

As you build your reputation (and wait for Cap to come home with news), things will get more complicated. They always do.

For Session 0 — Your Personal Stakes

What does the retirement job mean to YOU?

• What are you going to do with your share of the payout?
• What are you leaving behind when you retire?
• What are you running toward?
• What would you sacrifice to make sure this job succeeds?

About Saltmarsh

Saltmarsh is a small port town clinging to the coast, caught between legitimate trade and shadier enterprises. It's not big enough to attract major attention from the larger kingdoms, but not small enough to avoid trouble.

The Vibe

Weathered docks, salt-stained buildings, fog rolling in from the sea. Fishermen, smugglers, and merchants all do business here, and nobody asks too many questions as long as the coin is good.

Key Locations

• The Docks: Where everything begins and ends. Cargo, rumors, opportunities.
• The Copper Barnacle: Your headquarters in the dock district — home base
• The Market: Legitimate business by day, shadier deals at night
• The Harbor: Fishing boats, merchant vessels, and ships that don't fly any flag
• Crabber's Cove: Poor district, rough reputation
• The Town Council: Merchants and old families trying to maintain order (good luck)

The Power Structure

The Town Council — Local merchants and established families trying to run things legitimately

The Traditionalists — Want Saltmarsh to stay a fishing village, resist change and outside influence

The Loyalists — Want stronger ties to the Kingdom, more trade, more growth and prosperity

The Smugglers & Criminals — Prefer less oversight and government attention (that's you)

The Newcomers — Various factions and power players moving into Saltmarsh with their own agendas

Saltmarsh NPCs — Potential Connections

These are people your character might know. Pick 1–2 that make sense for your background and we'll workshop it in Session 0.

From the Docks & Town

• Anders Solmor — Traditionalist council member, old fisherman family, suspicious of outsiders
• Eliander Fireborn — Captain of the town guard, tries to keep the peace between factions
• Aubreck Drallion — Owns a fishing warehouse, secretly sympathetic to smugglers
• Gellan Primewater — Wealthy merchant, council member, always looking for profit

From the Shadows

• Winston "Lucky" Blackwell — Fence who takes stolen goods, no questions asked
• Skerrin Wavechaser — Local mage, secretive, has his own agenda
• "The Drowned Man" — Mysterious figure who appears at the docks, knows everything, tells nothing

Your Network — Think About:

• The Insider: Who tips you off about opportunities? (A guard? A merchant's servant? A dock worker?)
• The Fence: Who buys your goods besides Lucky?
• The Enemy: What crew or person hates you from a past job gone wrong?
• The Lifeline: Who would help you even if it cost them? (And why do they owe you?)

Saltmarsh Backgrounds

These optional backgrounds from Ghosts of Saltmarsh give you local flavor and connections. You can use these OR any standard background — your choice.

Fisher

You've made your living from the sea, understanding its moods and dangers.

Skill Proficiencies: History, Survival | Languages: One of your choice

Equipment: Fishing tackle, a fishing net, a favorite fishing lure or oiled leather wading boots, a set of traveler's clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp

Feature — Harvest the Water: You gain advantage on ability checks to catch fish or gather shellfish.

Marine

You've served aboard a ship, whether military, merchant, or pirate vessel.

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival | Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (water, land)

Equipment: A dagger with a worn scabbard, a set of well-maintained leather armor, a lucky charm, a set of common clothes, and a belt pouch containing 10 gp

Feature — Steady: You can move twice the normal distance before making Constitution saving throws for a forced march, and gain advantage on saves against being knocked prone.

Shipwright

You've worked in shipyards, building and repairing vessels.

Skill Proficiencies: History, Perception | Tool Proficiencies: Carpenter's tools, Vehicles (water)

Equipment: A set of well-used carpenter's tools, a blank book, 1 ounce of ink, an ink pen, a set of traveler's clothes, and a leather pouch with 10 gp

Feature — I'll Patch It!: You can repair ships and water vehicles, and you know the structural weaknesses of such vessels.

Smuggler

You've made your living moving goods that others would prefer stayed hidden.

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Deception | Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles (water)

Equipment: A fancy leather vest or jacket, a set of common clothes, and a leather pouch with 15 gp

Feature — Down Low: You're familiar with secret routes, smuggling techniques, and how to avoid authorities. You can find secret smuggling paths and know who to talk to in any port.

The Copper Barnacle

Your home base. More than just a tavern.

The Copper Barnacle sits in the dock district of Saltmarsh, weathered by salt air and hard years. It's not fancy, but it's yours. Two stories: the public taproom on the ground floor where dock workers and sailors drink, and the private quarters above where the real business happens.

The back room has a table scarred by a hundred planning sessions, maps pinned to the walls, and a hidden cellar that's seen its share of "special" cargo.

Cap and Mags run the place. It's where you plan jobs, celebrate successes, and lick your wounds after close calls. It's home.

What to Bring to Session 0

1. Character ideas — if you have a specialist role or personality in mind, great! If not, we'll figure it out together
2. Thoughts on crew connections — how you might know the others, moments you could have shared
3. Relationship with Cap — how he might have recruited you, what he means to you
4. Your stake in the retirement job — what this score means for your future
5. Enthusiasm for high-stakes heists, moral complexity, and nautical adventures

Questions?

If anything's unclear or you want to discuss character ideas before Session 0, reach out! The goal is for everyone to come to the table with a character who feels connected to the crew and ready to pull off the job of a lifetime.

See you at the Copper Barnacle.

Note: If you want to come prepared with a character ready to go, feel free — but don't stress if you'd rather wait and see what the group needs before committing. Either way, we'll make sure everyone is ready to play by the end of Session 0.