It looks like when the paragraph style is Default, the character style prevails (except for the Default character style, which is linked to the Default paragraph style).
However, when a paragraph style other than Default is applied, the result appears to be a combination of attributes.
Example:
Text with Table Index Heading (paragraph style: Liberation Sans, 14 point, no italics) combined with Quotation (character style: Liberation Serif, 12 point, italics).
The resulting text is 14 points, like the paragraph style, and italicized, like the character style.
Perhaps it is helpful to work like this way, but to avoid surprises, I need to understand the logic. I have been searching for a clear explanation and not found one.
I would deeply appreciate a clear explanation of how paragraph and character styles are supposed to work together. Which takes precedence when? For which attributes?