I created a Drow rogue and my Roguish Archetype is an assassin for 5e. I have been running into the problem of disadvantage rolls on Perception. This wouldn't bug me as much, but since there's only one person in the party that doesn't take disadvantage during the day and her Perception rolls are not that good most of the time, it's getting annoying when a random NPC pack gets the drop on us.
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The rant
Part of me wants to say "You chose the drow; the price you pay for all the good perks is the light sensitivity, live (or die) with it!" Clearly, that part of me won.
Do you have the rules right?
Having got that off my chest, there are some things in your question that make me think that your group doesn't have a proper grasp of perception and surprise.
but since there's only one person in the party that doesn't take disadvantage during the day
Who cares? Surprise is a personal thing. It is entirely possible for some on your side to be surprised and not others. It is also possible for some creatures on both sides to be surprised.
her Perception rolls are not that good most of the time
Well, nobody should be rolling dice for Wisdom (Perception) to determine surprise except in exceptional circumstances. Basically, an active Wisdom (Perception) check is only called for when someone is being hyper-vigilant - the 5 minutes after the alarm rings, when you have heard something in the shadows etc.
Here's how it works: How does surprise work in D&D 5e? Specifically, the bad guys make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, this is compared to each party member's passive Wisdom (Perception); effectively your passive Wisdom (Perception), which is a fixed number (-5 for disadvantage), is the DC they need to beat to surprise you. So, if you and your companion have a passive Wisdom (Perception) of, say 10, and you have disadvantage they need to beat 5 to surprise you and 10 to surprise them: the outcomes are 1-4 no surprise, 5-9 you are surprised, 10+ both are surprised.
This works both ways: if you are sneaking and they are sneaking then creatures on both sides can be surprised.
Also, your surprise ends at the end of your first turn. As a rogue you presumably have high Dexterity - if you win initiative then your surprise is over before the bad guys can act.
Solutions
In general, you choose when to adventure: do it at night.
Take the Observant feat - this makes you square in sunlight and much better in the dark.
Advantage cancels disadvantage: find methods of getting advantage.
Character build stuff you may not be able to use:
- Don't make Wisdom a dump stat
- Take proficiency in Perception
