My personal set up:
If I have Artisans, I USE them. If I have more than one, I specialise them as well. As to the disposition of the rest of the settlers it depends on if I have Uruks/Ronin/Ologs. If I have some, I leave the normal orcs to be producers mostly. If I don't, that falls to the snaga who otherwise would have been the start of an archery squad.
I don't use the Tribal Warcrafter that much unless I have very little iron, in which case lamellar leather is the main armour and my iron is saved to make steel. Leave the magic system for a while at the start - you aren't gonna get anywhere without the souls that only sieges/ambushes will bring.
Oh and build multiple Butchers and Tanners. You're gonna need them.
I play orcs in one of two ways:
1. Primitive only, using bone and leather armor only and relying mostly on warfare to survive (no farms, no trading, etc.)
2. Ancient civilization recovering its majesty, in which I try to rebuild all of the ancient buildings and lost technology.
My personal favorite time is to try to recreate "the goblin caves" from
The Hobbit, with all of the catwalks and platforms and such, but it requires a suitable cavern usually. And for whatever reason, the pathing usually leads to an early fort death due to FPS.