Thief / illusion build a good idea for a first time playthrough?

[Eco]

First time playing oblivion but i have played Skyrim and i usually create a assassin type character. If thief / illusion is a good build what race and attributes should i use and what skills should i focus.

Please also suggest other builds if you think this would be a bad option for my first playthrough.

[Col Com Dante]

It depends on where you're putting the difficulty slider. Oblivion has the worst level scaling of enemies in any game I've ever played. And it's harder than Skyrim, just a heads up. On normal difficulty you should be okay.

For a sneak/illusion character, an Argonian or Dunmer would probably be your best choices in terms of starting skills if i recall correctly. Bows behave very differently to Skyrim too, so i'd get used to the arrow arc if you're intending to use them. Magic though, is infinitely more fun and powerful. And alchemy is a viable way of doing things.

Have fun with the much better Brotherhood and Thieves guild questlines.

[The Great Cornholio]

Invisibility - backstab with poisoned weapon - paralyze on touch spell - swing away

It works but enemies have a ton of hit points, you dont get instant kills like Skyrim.

[donkeronderwater]

This is Oblivion... the enemy leveling is messed up. But there is a simple fix: the difficulty slider can be adjusted at any time.

My advice is to just start playing. It is a big world and you'll have many things to do.
You'll figure out techniques that work for your character.
When the time comes that even the simplest enemies become too hard, then you can adjust the difficulty a bit. And in time you can put it back up.

It is not ideally balanced, but at the same time there is no need for a single 'optimal' build taking away your freedom.

[lalvimt]

Argonian male. Pre-made class: agent or rogue.