I love Orcs and I often play as them. However my playthroughs are all warrior-oriented.

I was wondering how gifted Orcs are in the arcane from a lore perspective? I've seen Orc's in the strongholds using Alchemy, but that's about it. And I don't think I've ever seen an Orc using magic, but I might be wrong.

I say this because I was thinking about playing as an Orc battlemage the next time I play Oblivion, but I want it to be lore friendly as I always roleplay.

Orcs can work magic, just as potentially everybody else can. I suppose their culture really does not have much in the way of magical learning or lore, but an individual Orc could learn this from other sources, for example the Mages Guild (3rd Era) or the College of Winterhold (4th Era).

As good as anyone else that tries to practice magic. Heck, the female orsimer has an intelligence stat equal to that of Imperials in MW and OB (40), with having willpower for both sixes as high as an altmer and breton's (50). The main thing being is that their culture of constantly being on the go prevents them from really sitting down and studying. They value strength, as it takes muscle and grit to weather the hell they are rained on daily, along with a warrior's kind of culture.

However, the orsimer that do get into academics are super serious about it, especially those who run book stores and libraries (see OB and SK). There are also a few orsimer mages that pop up here and there, and in fact, there is an orsimer, who is an 'alleged' necromancer of the Mages Guild, who helps the nerevarine.

Yea remember that the Orcs in the Elderscroll lore is an elf race and have nothing to do with the Orcs of Warcraft lore for an example.

I'm aware of this, however I have never seen an Orc use magic before. And they are generally depicted as a race of warriors.

And as for the comment on Orcish academics, I never really thought of that! Good point! That explains alot.

From my take on the lore, here is what I've gathered. I'm not saying it's completely accurate because I'm still learning.

High Elves or Altmer are and remain the #1 magic users for now. Saying that they're naturally gifted in the arcane arts is an understatement.

Dark Elves or Dunmer would be the number two strongest magic users. If you're dumb enough to insult one, chances are they will melt your face off.

Bretons, being half Mer and half Man, come in third. While Bretons can rival High Elves in intelligence, their magic are considered cheap tricks in comparison.

Any other race has the potential to become a master mage, including Orcs. In the College of Winterhold, the only race I don't see there is the Argonian, but I assure you they can match an Orc in magical combat.

According to lore, If a fight were to break out between a master High Elf Wizard and a master Orc Mage, I would say the fight would be an uphill battle for the Orc, but I'm not saying it's a 100% death sentence for them.

Oh and as far as this goes, save your game and pick a fight with the librarian in the College of Winterhold.

I've never done it myself, but I've always expected him to send angry atronachs my way. =P

While less common than other races, orsimer are perfectly capable of being mages. If there's anything I've noticed about orcs, it's that they always strive to excel at whatever they like, whether they be warrior, mage, politician, or even chef.

Female orcs used to get higher stats in magic than the males. This I think was symbolic of Orc culture where it is more common for women to train in magic arts and men with warrior skills.

Well, not ENTIRELY true. Both males and females do learn how to fight and smith as danger is always present. Though females are put more on the task of being the seer, medicine person, and/or other activities that require brain power, while any males in the stronghold are going to be put into positions of manual labor (save for the chieftain), where using your head isn't as important.