- The designers badly overestimate Strength.
- The Designers hate "monstrous" characters.
- The designers hate half-breed characters.
So Half-Orcs, like Goblins, and Kobolds, are in desperate need of increased attributes. Half-Orcs could get by fine with a +2 to Strength and no penalties at all. That's not even a big deal. It puts them in the same ballpark as Hobgoblins, where they're a playable race that gets modestly positive attributes in exchange for having a list of super powers and bonuses so short that they could be added to that of the Deep Halfling or the Forest Gnome and noone would ever notice.
But they're still short. Thematically it works - you get half the strength modifier of the Orc and you don't suffer any of the Orc's penalties. But that, Darkvision, and a Copper Piece will get you some ale and stale bread in a wayfarer's inn on the road to the Marsh of the Wheel.
So here's the question: what thematic, dare I say it - bullshit abilities are thematically appropriate for a Half-Orc?
-Username17