How about a passive ability which makes them deal more damage the less health they got? Kind of a rage that boosts them :)

orcs should have a boost related either to damage output like what siddius suggests or something related to heavy armor. i would recomend looking at the starting stats for the different races, either online or the long way of using the "racial perks in description" mod. also just noticing how orcs seem to act in-game. go find one of the orc strongholds. they're hardy and revere might, and of course are excellent smiths. i think starting them with orcish crafting is a bit OP, though it definitally makes sense in lore. maybe (if it's even possible) give them a strong boost to improving weapons and armor, especially orcish (that seems really complicated maybe not a good idea).

I don't know if that'd be possible but I can give it ago. And who needs mods? it lists all the boosts in the CK anyway. Plus I don't know scripting so I cant do anything that would scale with something yet. I might have them get discounts in orc strongholds if I cn work out how.

maybe you could make it so they can learn smithing faster or learn fast when making orcish stuff something to make smith easier faster so they are as good as they say not just blow hearts talking big