When you permadie you can inherit 30% of the current biles and proficiencies. I believe its 40% biles if you haven't been scalped, but if some player were to be the one to kill you it is 150% likely that they will scalp your character because of the leaderboard for scalps.
http://salemwiki.info/index.php/Inheritance <<< (for more info), you have to pay silver to an npc in town to inherit your current biles/proficiencies, otherwise you only get part of what you last submitted to the npc. For example, you talked to him at 100 biles and payed. You died at 300 biles but never talked to him since the 100 biles you will be able to inherit the 30-40% biles of that 100 biles.
Inheriting gives your new character the homesteads of your previous characters. You will probably have to destroy all your gates if you don't have access to the master key that you locked them with. (Never carry the master key outside base, make slave copies for characters to use)
You can't autosell every piece of loot you get in town. There is a very limited selection of what npc stalls will buy. These stalls/stands are draped with a white cloth.