would like to create a new character.wanted to try something that i haven't done before (i usually go for a lawful good/crusader type).wanted to be able to use a bow/short sword,dagger/some magic,but mainly be stealthy (am not sure about becoming an assassin yet though?) what might you recommend.thanks in advance

When going for archer/thief type characters I usually go with Dunmers, Bosmers or Khajits. Some would say Argonians..but damn them for playing reptile scum. I recommend Thief for the birth sign as it fortifies luck, speed and agility by 10 points. For major skills I like to go with the following: Marksman, Blade, Acrobatics, Sneak, Illusion, Alteration, Armorer. Some would say go with Security, but I am not good at the lock pick game and I nearly always use the skeleton key or Alteration for opening locks. My characters are constantly gathering ingredients in the wild to rapidly increase my Alchemy Skill. Not only is it useful for making all sorts of potions and poisons, but it is also a great way to make some extra septims.

My "stealthy" build is as follows:

Intelligence | Agility
Blade | Light Armor | Marksman | Sneak | Conjuration | Mysticism | Illusion

Race and Birthsign are variable for me depending on the character I want to build.

For "Blade", I use daggers or short swords.

Light Armor, Marksman, Sneak, are all self explanatory.

Conjuration, I really like summoning things. It's my favorite skill in fantasy RPG's, and is a part of every character I make. It's also useful to summon Bound Dagger so that you don't actually have to carry a weapon on you.

Mysticism, it's part of the RP of being a "soul collector" type character (so my build would be more of an assassin type), using Soul Trap. Also, for a stealthy character, I think that Detect Life is great to be aware of your surroundings, and if you're in a dungeon, you can set up shots with your bow to get the drop on your enemies before they know you're there.

Illusion, is great for casting spells like Chameleon or Invisibility, and Frenzy and Command spells can help you get out of a pickle that's too big for your not-meant-for-combat build.

Im just starting one. i think for skills ill have sneak, illusion, blade, marksman, light armor, security, and alchemy, actually scratch alchemy, dont know what my last skill will be but alchemy's pretty easy to level.

Major Skills: Marksman, Illusion, Destruction, Sneak, Blade, Light Armor, Speechcraft.
Fav Attributes: Willpower, Agility.
My character's a Dunmer, yours could be any other race.You choose.

thanks everyone.i must admit to not having used illusion/command type spells yet (as well as alchemy).these will be something that my new character will make use of.am going to try and not resort back to how i usually play oblivion (run straight at the enemy,sword in hand/destruction spell e.t.c).i think that my character may be darker also (as in disposition) i never play bad/evil usually.