Argonian and Khajiit make the best thieves based on their initial stats. But if you see an Argonian or Khajiit walking around your town, you know someone's gonna get robbed or killed. You can have sneak level 105, but the tail or scales draw tons of attention.

But who would notice an old begger in rags? "Invisible in plain sight" is the motto of Thasgrond the Begger. Once a successfull merchant, Thasgrond was utterly ruined when bandits destroyed his shop and killed his wife. Relying on his business saavy, Thasgrond reestablished himself on the black market, dealing in stolen goods, whispered information and unsavory services. Years of unplesant dealing with unsavory characters led him to a smart business move - cut out the thief and assassin middle men by performing those trades himself. Donning his beggars cowl, Thasgrond moves about the cities unhindered, simply ignored by citizens and guards. He learns peoples daily routines, overhears their secrets, and observes the subtle interactions which betray their darkest emotions. Beyond simple survival and profit, Thasgrond uses this information to disrupt the honest way of life which so horribly failed him.

So, which human race would best fit Thasgrond, both thematically and regarding game mechanics (starting bonus, special ability, etc)? And "Thasgrond" is just a working name; it'll be finalized once race is decided.

It doesn't matter, they all end up exactly the same.

I'd say an Imperial

yeah an imperial seems like the closest fit for you on a backstory like that.

That's the sad part. Khajiit warior, Breton thief, Orc mage. Race doesn't seem that important in the game. Well, at least it adds a little flavor.

Imperial it is, most likely. Thanks for the input. Now, to craft the most unassuming, harmless looking old man... then dual wield daggers to slash up my contract targets.

I have to agree with this. The background story seems fit for an Imperial.

I have an Imperial thief, he is starting to learn a few tricks of the trade from his fellow guildmates and some of the khajiits along the way, but his social skills are great so he finds making trade to be a breeze as he finished some training with the bards college.

Imperials also have that ability that make them find more gold, even if it's just a few pennies.

Imperial. They can calm people down with 'Voice of the Emporer' and can find extra gold.

My assassin is a Breton. The magic resistance helps a ton against dragons. I love khajiit but I always end up gettting bothered by having a tail...

Khajiit make great assassin/thieves, they pretty much get a skill bonus at just about every shadow skill. The night eye is almost like having a free detect life.

Make him a Breton. That would be fun.

Either way juist hit the thief stone

This

Imperial. After all, they've been pretty much a greedy merchant/politician race since they were implemented as playable in Morrowind.

you can use any race for any build , the intial bonus that some races have do make a difference on low lvls , but later eventually a nord thief or assasin will be just as good as a dunmer or kahjiit thief assasin those +10 or +5 on sneak they get doesn't really matter anymore if you invest enough perks in that skill

Imperial.

I suggest Breton.

Pick the one most interesting and enjoyable to you. As a few have said - the difference between races doesn't matter too much. And I'm happy that it doesn't. The different racial abilities are mainly for some flavor. That way you're free to pick the race-class combo you want based on what sounds cool instead of weighing pros and cons of racial abilities. Better that way.

Imperials are better in heavy armor and don't get any racial bonus to suit a thief other than maybe one handed to assist a dagger (more so for an assassin as opposed to thief).

I'd probably go Nord seems that they are now better at light armor than heavy (??!! Why in the world did they change it I'll never know. My Nord remained heavy armor which I'm glad as the Nord heavy armors are better ) That and they get one handed to assist in dagger attacks if an assassin as well (though my Nord is neither nor assassin. I made a second and third character for this, lol).

Breton are a magically geared race and get illusion magic bonus so this would help.

Redguards get archery.

Well, the name sounds Nord to me. Plus, Nords get a speech bonus initially, which could explain your guy's merchant history.

But generally, when I want to make a thief I go with Imperial. I just wish they had a little Speech boost in this game! Now they're battlemages, apparently.

Their racial abilities fit thieves quite well, though.

I would suggest some Breton and make him some sort of Nightblade. this would fit traditionally to a Breton as preferred magic user who is mainly some thief.

I'm confused why so many people have said Imperial. From what I can see, their stats are the least benefiting

I can't even imagine them to suit a thief through lore as they appear the most lawful of races. Being Imperial by birthright they are probably some of the wealthiest due to presence of the legion and Imperial trade. Much like true Romans throughout the Roman Empire. It was the poorer Celts, Germanics and other nationalities, I expect were likely to be the majority of thieves.

By the time of the Roman Empire, most Romans lived in abject poverty. Rome was a gigantic slum, filled with a vast proletariat of people without a pot to urinate in, or window to throw it out of. It was only the very small, very wealthy elite that benefited from Rome's plundering of the societies around it.

My next character is going to be a thief / assassin.

Redguard is what I'll be using. not going to be using magic either.

And most ordinary Romans were palmed off with bread and circuses.
The grain dole and the games started under the Republic which was no democracy, voting was restricted to those with property and weighted to favour those with lots of property