On official servers, some things will be lost on death (some, not all, things you're carrying) such as weapons. Private server owners will have the ability to configure their servers to take this further, essentially creating a "hardcore" game mode. We haven't decided if perma-death is something we'll allow yet, but it's possible. That said, if we do it'll not remove your pledge perks as they're primarily cosmetic
@JamesLuck01 is fairly spot-on with most his points above. While official servers will have more of a casual fun atmosphere, one of our main goals with Identity is to give role-players an ideal game to live out their imagination. There are very, very few MMO games that offer real immersion these days and immersion is a huge priority for us.